From the pain of endometriosis to making history

Illness meant she was once in so much pain she almost quit cycling as she struggled to stand up, now Elinor Barker has made Welsh sporting history.

Barker has now won more Olympic medals than any other Welsh woman after earning her fourth in the madison event on Friday, claiming silver with Neah Evans.

The 29-year-old has won medals at the last three Olympic Games, adding to her team pursuit gold medal in Rio in 2016, silver in Tokyo in 2021 and bronze in Paris.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places and can cause serious pain.

It is also an under-diagnosed condition, with the worldwide average time of diagnosis close to seven years, despite it affecting around 1 in 10 women.

Barker won gold in Rio with her condition still undiagnosed and has had surgery to improve her symptoms.

Her reality was once that she was in too much pain to even sit on a bike, but Barker says she feels she is in a relatively lucky position compared to others suffering with the condition.

“I was waiting for a diagnosis and I was lucky,” she told BBC Radio Wales.

“The average diagnosis is about seven years and it took me about three to four years from my first appointment to actually having surgery and starting to find some solutions.

“One of the beautiful things of getting older is I now know my body better than I ever have done before. I know how to cope in a variety of different situations and get the best out of myself.”

Endometriosis can negatively impact fertility, but Barker’s son Nico, born in 2022, was in Paris to see his mother win two medals.

Barker says having her family in attendance has made her medal successes extra special but she has not considered trying to win medals for her son.

“It’s funny because a lot of people say, ‘I am doing it for my kids’. I am absolutely not doing it for him because he does not know what is going on,” she joked.

“That’s what makes it so special because when you are a mum it is like expected that everything you do is for your kids, but this is something that is purely mine and for the other adults in my life that have supported me, but it’s nice to bring him along for the ride as well.”

Barker says combining cycling with motherhood has been extremely fulfilling.

“It has been the most incredible, difficult but best thing that I have ever done,” she said.

“There is no way I could do it without my husband Casper [von Folsach,] being as incredible and supportive as he is and up for spending as much time being basically a married single dad.

“Our parents have been amazing. We don’t live near them but they are always up for babysitting when we need them to. If they need to come to us or travel around the world to help look after Nico if I am racing and Casper is working, they are there.

“My road team [Uno-X] and British Cycling have been so supportive and open-minded in how things can work and how I can get the most out of my training without spending any unnecessary time away from Nico.

“That is the most important thing in my life and cycling is very much secondary to that.”

Barker believes Paris has been her most successful Olympic Games, despite some negative social media feedback.

“After the team pursuit bronze medal, I put a picture up on Instagram of myself at Rio where I said that at 21 I was a baby, in Tokyo I was growing a baby and here I am now in Paris celebrating my medal with my baby,” she explained.

“Somebody commentated this is proof because it went gold, silver, bronze that having kids makes you worse at sport.

“I thought it was a very strange thing to say because there are hundreds of variables when you combine people retiring, new people coming in and commitment changes.

“This is two medals at this Games compared to one gold at another. What is the most successful Games? To me this feels like the most successful one.

“I have never been selected for two events before or won two medals. I feel as if I am at the peak of my career and I don’t think I would have been able to do that if I had not had that time away, that perspective or support in the stands as well.”

Barker says she is proud to be the first Welsh woman to win four Olympic medals, which she has achieved in three Games.

“I am glad I didn’t know that before, that’s really nice,” she added.

“I am never somebody who keeps track of these things but I love when I hear about the event of it actually happening.

“It’s amazing and I am going to hold on to that.”

As to what comes next, Barker is non-committal at the idea of competing at a fourth Olympics in Los Angeles.

“In the words of Simone Biles, I am going to babysit my medals,” she said.

“It is hard to predict what will happen in four-years’ time but wouldn’t that be great?”