This competitive skier survived an eating disorder. Now the Ontario teen is sharing her story to help others

Brooke Ailey strides through the Lappe Nordic Ski Centre to her locker, where a hanging poster reads, “Girls in sports are empowered for life.”

She grabs her equipment and heads to the wooded trails in Thunder Bay, Ont., that have groomed dozens of world-class cross-country ski athletes. Ailey, 17, is putting in hundreds of hours every year, trying to join that list.

Skiing and that competitive drive bring a lot of joy to Ailey, she told CBC News, but it’s also caused harm. In August 2019, after her mother recognized possible symptoms and brought her to a doctor, Ailey was diagnosed with disordered eating.

“For me, it