Continuous Glucose Monitoring for Athletes: A Type-1 Diabetic's Take Featuring Kris Freeman

Nordic Nation

In this episode, we speak with Kris Freeman. For those unfamiliar with Freeman, he skied in four Olympics from 2002 to 2014, placed fourth on two occasions at the World Championships in the 15 k classic, and stayed at the sharp end of American distance skiing until retiring in 2018. After leaving the ski realm, Freeman -- now 40-years old -- switched his focus to long distance triathlon and has now completed IronMan Lake Placid twice, first in 2019 and second this summer, where he qualified for the Kona World Championships.

All the while, Freeman has managed Type 1 diabetes, which he has explained is inseparable from his training, racing, and day to day life. Now an advocate and role model for athletes with Type 1 diabetes, Freeman has fastidiously documented his own methods of balancing synthetic insulin and glucose in alignment with his training and racing throughout his career and is an expert in the area of blood sugar management in sport.

In this conversation, Freeman explains the evolution of his own use of continuous glucose monitoring, the vital importance that blood sugar management has for him compared to a non-diabetic athlete, and his thoughts on the launch of Supersapiens, which is propelling continuous glucose monitoring into the athletic space. Freeman references this recent article on Gus Schumacher and his experience as a member of the Supersapiens pilot group of athletes.

For more with Freeman, you can listen to this 2017 episode of Nordic Nation, or through FasterSkier’s deep archives. Thanks for listening.