England rugby star Ellie Kildunne, a key figure in the Red Roses' 2022 World Cup triumph, has courageously opened up about a hidden battle away from the pitch. The fullback, whose electric pace and five tries—including a stunning solo effort in the final—captivated a global audience, revealed she struggled with disordered eating and body dysmorphia during the coronavirus lockdowns.

For elite athletes like Kildunne, life is structured around control: hitting GPS metrics, lifting specific weights, and chasing tries. When the pandemic stripped away that structure—closing gyms, canceling team sessions, and postponing the Olympics she was training for—that competitive drive turned inward. "Once that's taken away from you," Kildunne told BBC Sport, "I think I just tried to find that sense of control in other places."

Isolated from her support system of teammates and physios, Kildunne found herself locked in a destructive cycle. She focused intensely on running, seeking out faster routes to shave seconds off her times. When she felt she couldn't control her food intake, she would "earn" meals by squeezing in extra runs, a clear sign of a deteriorating relationship with food and exercise.

"Body dysmorphia is such a funny thing," she reflected. "I would have been small but I would see myself as bigger in the mirror." This distorted self-perception, coupled with the absence of her normal athletic environment, led to unhealthy weight loss. Now, looking back, Kildunne sees the danger clearly and is using her platform to help others who might be in a similar situation, highlighting the intense psychological pressures that can exist even for world champions at the peak of their physical powers.