Gymnastics champion is allergic to exercise

A 19-year-old gymnast diagnosed with a rare condition which, in effect, makes her allergic to exercise, has fought back to pick up five gold medals and two trophies and be crowned senior national champion in British Disability Gymnastic championships.
Natasha Coates, from Appleton, was also the highest-scoring female in the whole competition, at Lilleshall National Sports Centre.
Now she wants to use her success to help raise awareness of the condition she suffers from and also get more people into sport.
She said: “I believe that a diagnosis does not define you – but your strength and courage does.”
It was in May last year that Natasha – her friends call her Tasha – discovered she had a condition which affects cells in her body known as Mast Cells.
The full name of the condition is Spontaneous Urticaria and Spontaneous Angioedema leading to Idiopathic Anaphylaxis.
Alongside this she also suffers from Asthma, Eczema, Allergic Rhinitis and Oral Allergy Syndrome.
Tasha said: “As well as many different daily symptoms, this in effect makes me ‘allergic to exercise’ as exercise promotes mast cell degranulation which can throw me into a life threatening allergic reaction!
“Having already been a gymnast for 10 years prior to the conditions developing, I was not willing to let my diagnosis define me and stop me from enjoying the sport I love.
“This is when I made the switch to disability gymnastics, which allows me to train and compete just like anyone else in the sport but keeps my health a priority throughout and allows for adaptations.
“In April this year I suffered an anaphylactic reaction which lead to a respiratory arrest – stopped me breathing due to my throat swelling shut.
“After that I thought my time as a gymnast was over forever. It took a long time and a lot of hard work to get well enough to be able to complete a full routine on each piece of equipment – beam, bars, floor and vault.
“I was thrilled just to be well enough to take part in the British DisabilityGymnastics Championships.
“I was able to complete all of my routines despite a mild allergic reaction during the warm up and a nasty fall on beam which resulted in me landing heavily on my side and spending some time on the floor before ummoning up the strength and courage to finish off my routine and present to the judges with a smile.”
Tasha left the competition with five goal medals and two trophies and is now the Women’s Senior National Champion on all four pieces of apparatus as well as holding the overall title in her category.
Now she is running her own blog, called “I’m Allergic to Life” which has had more than 17,000 views and regularly uses social media to help inspire others to get into sports, despite age or ability.
Pictured: Natasha in action – and all smiles with her trophies and below during here time in hospital.