Jenny Nesbitt is student in the Sports Broadcast program at Cardiff Met and the reigning Welsh Cross Country National Champion.
A talented Great Britain and Wales athlete on the track, road and cross country, she became a prominent runner when she beat former world champion Paula Radcliffe in the 2013 Worcester City 10km.
In her interview, Nesbitt shared her battle with an eating disorder as a teenager which also affected her mental health.
Then at 17, she was hospitalized for two months, and in and out of the hospital for nearly two years with an autoimmune disease.
“It was a really horrific time in my life topped with the fact that I had already had a lot of mental health problems prior to that,” Nesbitt said. “But it has meant that I don’t take a single day for granted anymore because I’ve seen just how quickly life can be taken away from you.”
It was nearly two years before Nesbitt was ready to return to competition.
The now 25-year-old Nesbitt has added multiple medals and titles to her resume.
She consistently competes internationally, winning the BUCS 5000m title and competing at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the World Cross Country Championships in 2019.
With a more medals to come, and the goal of the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Nesbitt is also focused to helping others like her when she was younger.
“It’s so important to have role models,” Nesbitt said. “Back when I was 14-years-old if I had known that someone else made the Great Britain team who had been through similar situations to me, then it would have given me so much confidence and hope that it one day could be me.’
“I’d love to be able to show people that you can go through really hard times but then come out of the other side and be stronger, braver and tougher than you’ve ever been before, so if there’s anything I can do to help people who are possibly in similar situations then it can only be positive.”
Nesbitt’s exclusive feature as part of our Transatlantic Storytelling documentary is being produced by Jordan Nemeth and Rachel Berry.
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