Romain Rouillard 14:42 pm, March 31, 2023

Subjected to sustained pace, high-level athletes who continue their activity while practicing fasting run certain dangers that can undermine their physical integrity. However, they can count on the coaches and doctors around them to adapt their daily lives to contain risks.

It is an equation that is sometimes difficult to solve that stands every year in front of athletes of Muslim faith. How to reconcile the pursuit of high-intensity physical activity while practicing Ramadan? This fast, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, consists of not eating or drinking anything from sunrise to sunset for a month. A rhythm of life a priori incompatible with the practice of high-level sport which requires special attention to food.

Some athletes choose to shift their month of fasting in order to have all of their physical abilities. This was the case of Belgian attacking midfielder Nacer Chadli just before the 2014 World Cup and the Muslim players of the France team during Euro 2016. "Ramadan is a very personal choice, there is no obligation to do so. The principle of Ramadan is not to be violent, fasting is recommended for those who are able, "said the Great Mosque of Paris to Le Figaro in 2014. Islam also makes it possible to compensate for each day not fasted by donating food to the poorest.

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Risk of injury

As for those who would prefer to observe Ramadan on time, some risk must be considered, reminds Europe 1 Nicolas Aubineau, nutritionist and sports dietician. "When you train during the day, you have to regenerate the body optimally so that the body resumes its overall efficiency. If we poorly rebuild the energy reservoirs, and especially the glycogen store, if we rebuild muscle tissue poorly, we can have deficiencies and risks of injury, "he says. Concretely, the too low absorption of nutrients after physical exertion acidifies the human body and makes it more vulnerable to inflammation.

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Thierry Blancon, physical trainer and former national athletics coach, also points to the fatigue that athletes who practice Ramadan can feel. "Since it is not on a fixed date, when it falls in the summer, the fasting periods are more important. And athletes also take on their sleep because at sunset, there can be a festive moment, family reunion. There is therefore a loss of sleep that is not favorable to high-level sport."

The medical profession watches over the grain

Often well aware of the risks they run, Muslim athletes regularly highlight the spiritual aspect of fasting, essential according to them in times of competition. "There is a personal aspect not to be overlooked. Fasting can be felt as a mental need and give strength to a player. If you deprive him of that, he may be disappointed and it will disturb him on the pitch," Karim Haggui, a former Tunisian international, told the Parisian in 2018.

These athletes can generally count on the keen eye of the medical profession around them. "On the first hours when they can eat, I advise them to adopt specific recovery protocols with proteins, carbohydrates but also specialized drinks. We will also ask them to hydrate throughout the night because water can rebuild the tissues, "says Nicolas Aubineau.

Adapted training

As for the coaches, they are accustomed to establishing, with their foals, adapted sessions that allow them to reconcile Ramadan and sports practice. Thierry Blancon remembers the atypical training he developed with Naman Keïta, bronze medallist at the Athens Games in 2004 in the 400m hurdles: "Every night, we waited in the stadium for the day to fall. And once it was dark, he would eat a small sandwich and we would start training. That was the formula we set ourselves."

Some athletes even see Ramadan as the ideal solution to lose weight for a competition, notes Thierry Blancon. Fasting can therefore be easier to grasp in the middle of a tournament than during an intensive training window where the density of land work makes recovery more laborious. At the same time, major sports bodies are also taking steps to ensure the comfort of Muslim athletes. In the English football league, referees have been instructed to allow players who wish to break their fast during evening matches. They will then have the opportunity to feed during stoppages.