Resilience Beyond the Finish Line: Madelyn Eybergen’s Inspiring Comeback

By Julia Dostaler

Anorexia almost ended her athletics career, maybe her life. Today, Lancer athlete Madelyn Eybergen is the strongest runner in Ontario University Athletics.

Madelyn Eybergen and Rivi, her emotional support dog, outside the Human Kinetics building, University of Windsor.

Seemingly having come out of nowhere, Eybergen is turning heads in Canada’s university cross country community. Originally a high jump athlete, the first-time cross country runner dominated the field this fall.

Eybergen’s journey has been a gruelling one, marking her story as one of true resilience, courage, and inspiration.

I met with Eybergen the day after she won gold at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women’s Cross Country Championship in North Bay. Our interview was on a Sunday afternoon, so the lounge in the Human Kinetics building on campus was dead quiet. Eybergen walked in, decked out in Lancers Athletics gear, and let Rivi, her emotional support dog, run ahead to me. I bent down to give her a proper “doggy hello.”

Rivi, Eybergen’s emotional support dog.

As Eybergen walked toward me, I stood up to introduce myself and congratulated her on  success from the day before. She thanked me and gave a warm nod.

Standing almost 6 feet tall with long limbs and a strong frame, Eybergen has the natural posture of an athlete. She carries herself with a soft smile and kind eyes.

After speaking with some of her teammates, coaches, and her parents, one theme arose was constant: determination.

Colin Inglis, Lancers Track and Field head coach, said to me “the gun goes off and she’s just determined. Sometimes you see an athlete run and you know they’re read for the taking. But you never see that with Madelyn.”

Colin Inglis, Lancers Track and Field Head Coach

Eybergen, in her fifth year at the University of Windsor, always loved being active. That’s part of the reason she decided to pursue her undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics with a focus on kinesiology and health sciences.

Sport was monumental in the Eybergen family during her upbringing in the small town of Point Clark, Ontario, a lakefront community on Lake Huron.

“[My family does] a sport every season… We have two boats, so in the summer we’re out in the water wakeboarding… [In the winter], we’re skiing and snowboarding. Whenever we are anywhere together, we’re doing something active,” Eybergen vividly recalled.

Growing up, she played every sport she could. In Grade 4, she was recruited onto her local track and field club and was immediately hooked.

Described by her mother as a happy and energetic child, Eybergen’s mental health took an unfortunate turn in Grade 8. Diagnosed with anorexia, Eybergen’s parents, Jane and Dave, made the decision to admit her to the hospital for several months due to the severity of her physical and mental state, with doctors concerned about heart failure.

“I know we did what we had to do to save her life. Literally,” Jane said with urgency in her voice.

That period marked the beginning of a bumpy road for Eybergen and her family, with countless hours spent in hospitals and appointments with doctors, specialists, counsellors, and her psychiatrist.

Eybergen’s mental and physical health improved in Grade 9, which is when she began to excel in high jump.

Eybergen high jumping for the Kincardine Track and Field Club

In Grade 10, Eybergen set a high school record of 1.66 metres in high jump – a height that is competitive at the university level.

Caleb Keeling, Lancer high jumper and Eybergen’s longtime friend and teammate, has known her since Grade 10 because they were on Kincardine’s Track and Field Club together.

Caleb Keeling, Lancers Track and Field, high jump athlete

“[Eybergen] was always very driven and hard core in her training… She was a really good training partner to have because she never skipped out on reps and was always going above and beyond,” Keeling recalled, his face lighting up with nostalgia.

Despite making progress in high school, Eybergen relapsed in Grade 11. This setback led to another extended hospitalization; her weight was dangerously low. She was then transferred to a mental health facility specializing in eating disorders. She stayed more than six months.

Eybergen, grade 10, with late Kincardine Track and Field Coach, Earl Farrell

When Eybergen finally returned home, she used an extra year to graduate high school. She committed to the University of Windsor’s high jump team in her final year in Kincardine.

Eybergen relapsed again in her first-year of university when the world was locked down due to COVID-19. During this period, her anorexia was paired with obsessive exercising which led her psychiatrist, who she still sees to this day, to diagnose her with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and RED-S.

She could tell by my raised brow that I had never heard of RED-S, so she jumped on the opportunity to enlighten me.

RED-S, which stands for relative energy deficiency in sport, is a condition where an athlete (female or male) doesn’t have enough energy to support their normal bodily functions due to an imbalance between their energy intake and energy expenditure. The syndrome impacts athletes’ bone health, immune system, cardiovascular health, workout recovery, and much more.

Due to RED-S, Eybergen’s athletic edge went downhill in her second and third-year of university. She didn’t perform well. Her spot on the high jump team was at risk.

Eybergen explained that “high jump is a power sport. You have to have power and you have to be poppy. So from all my overtraining and having no energy, I had no pop… I was jumping 1.30s, 1.40s, which is not university team standard.”

Jane recounted feeling scared to death at the chance Eybergen would get cut in her third-year, worried it would throw her deeper into the abyss of her eating disorder.

But when Eybergen was cut from the high jump team, she didn’t spiral like Jane feared. Instead, Eybergen’s reaction was the complete opposite.

“Getting cut from the team was the best thing that could have happened to me,” Eybergen confidently emphasized.

Ever since she was diagnosed in Grade 8, Eybergen kept everything secret from her friends, extended family, coaches, and teammates because she was embarrassed. Being from a small town, she “didn’t want to be that girl.”

Eybergen decided to finally open up publicly in a YouTube series, Epitome of Athletics, in an episode called Strength Through Struggle – Episode 3: Life’s Hurdles. The outpour of support that she received after the release of this episode was life-changing, motivating her to continue pushing forward.

With the goal of making it back on the high jump team, Eybergen sought help from University of Windsor assistant professor, Dr. Andrew Perrotta, whose expertise is enhancing health and sport performance.

Assistant Professor, Dr. Andrew Perrotta, University of Windsor.

“[Dr. Perrotta] came up with a high jump specific training program for me, mostly focusing on fast-twitch muscle fibers,” said Eybergen.

Eybergen at a high jump competition at the University of Windsor. Credit: @etam_images

After months of hard work and focus on a healthy diet, Eybergen got her strength and fitness back in check and was feeling ready for the Blue & Gold intersquad meet – an exciting competition within the Lancers track and field team where athletes are split into two teams: blue and gold for internal competition.

While some athletes describe it as a “fun event,” it’s also a crucial one because it serves as a team try out. In order to secure a spot on the team, athletes need to meet team standards.

In Blue & Gold, each athlete competes in their own track and field event plus at least one more event of their choice – for fun. The goal is to accumulate as many points for their team as possible.

On a whim, Eybergen decided to run the 1500-metre race as her extra event. Out of the eight female runners who ran that as their event, Eybergen finished fourth, not only making team standard, but also making travel team standard, which is a higher layer for the best athletes on the team.

Additionally, since she had reached team standard heights in high jump, she was back on that team too.

Her standout performance at Blue & Gold surprised herself and everyone around her. According to Keeling, everyone quickly realized that Eybergen could “do some real damage” in distance running.

Coach Inglis said to me that “she’s only a couple of seconds off our all time top ten in the 1500 metre [race]. We’re talking about phenomenal athletes who are on that top 10 list.”

By the end of Eybergen’s fourth year, she had consistently clocked impressive race times. Inglis sat down for a serious conversation with his associate head coach, Brett Lumley, and Lancers’ Cross Country head coach, Jordan Collison, and agreed that Eybergen’s true potential was in distance running on the cross country team.

Cross Country Head Coach, Jordan Collison (left) and Track and Field Associate Head Coach, Brett Lumley (right)

The three coaches told Eybergen that she had to choose between high jump and cross country for her fifth-year. Eybergen grappled with this decision. High jump was her past, but she saw cross country as her future.  She agreed to make the switch.

“Once I started running the 1500 metre, [Dr. Perrotta] helped me train for that. The 1500 [metre] and high jump are very different events. High jump is power and distance [running] is about pushing your VO2 max… They don’t work together,” Eybergen said while motioning her hands to show that the two just don’t mesh.

Eybergen running on an indoor track in her fourth year.

Collison told me that “[Eybergen is] a very dedicated person. She puts everything into [her distance training]…  She’s a great person to work with. She really makes herself coachable… She’s new to distance running, so she soaks in all of the information that anyone gives her, whether it’s from coaches or other athletes.”

To say Eybergen performed well in her rookie cross country season would be an understatement. This fall, Eybergen has claimed multiple medals and put her pace and strength on full display at the OUA Cross Country Championship, claiming gold.

Some of Eybergen’s 2024 season highlights to date:

Fourth place at the Joe Piane Invitational in Notre Dame, Indiana, clocking in at 17 minutes and 11 seconds for the women’s 5 km run.

Gold at Vigars & Salter Western Invitational in London, Ontario with an impressive 29 minutes and 51 seconds in the women’s 8 km run.

Silver at the Marauder Invitational in Hamilton, Ontario, in the women’s 8km, shaving one minute and ten seconds off from her previous 8 km run, clocking in at 28 minutes and 41 seconds.

Gold at the OUA Cross Country Championship in North Bay, Ontario. Eybergen ran the women’s 8 km in 28 minutes and 42 seconds.

Eybergen is a freak athlete. With her excellent cardio, her long legs and strides give her the ability to maintain a fast pace. She’s a strong and physical runner, which makes getting around her no easy feat for her competition.

Eybergen ahead of the pack at the OUA Cross Country Championship in North Bay, ON. 10-26-2024

Another one of Eybergen’s strengths is her ability to tackle any terrain. The OUA Championship course in North Bay was particularly challenging due to its landscape, but Collison said the hills allowed her to maintain her pace and extend her lead.

Eybergen with her parents, Jane and Dave Eybergen, after winning the OUA Cross Country Championship in North Bay, ON. 10-26-2024

“There are no words to adequately describe the feelings I experienced [watching Madelyn finish] first at [the OUA Championship]. It brought tears of joy to my eyes,” Dave proudly shared with me.

For Jane and Dave, Eybergen’s gold medal represents far more than a victory at the finish line. It embodies their daughter’s incredible journey of resilience through years of struggle and fierce determination.

So, what’s next for Eybergen?

Completing her last year of her undergraduate degree, Eybrgan has three years of varsity eligibility remaining. She’s devoted to pursuing cross country seriously, but she’s still in the process of figuring out what that will look like for her. At the time of our interview, her main focus was the U Sports National Cross Country Championship in Kelowna, BC on November 9.

Looking ahead, Eybergen is considering a career in pediatric physiotherapy to help children with mobility and developmental challenges lead more active lives.

Eybergen will also continue practicing her art. Ever since she was young, Eybergen loved to follow her mom around the house and sketch whatever was in front of her.

In recent years, she’s showcased her talent by painting murals in community spaces and by drawing portraits.

Murals painted by Madelyn Eybergen

A pencil drawing by Madelyn Eybergen

With a bright future ahead, her journey serves as a powerful testament to her resilience and strength. Driven by a passion for helping others, she understands the impact of sharing her story.

Each race Madelyn Eybergen runs is more than just a competition; it’s a declaration that she has conquered her past and is forging a brighter future for herself, inspiring others to do the same.