When Freddie Woodward jumped off the diving board at the 2016 Rio Olympic Gameshe had officially reached the pinnacle of his career.
An ‘enthusiastic’ boy, Woodward had competed in the Commonwealth Games, European Championships and the British Championships by the age of 20.
He won both bronze and silver medals and trained with, among others Tom Daley And Jack Lach.
But his adoring onlookers did not know that he harbored a dark secret.
Since he was a young teenager, Woodward, from Sheffield and now 30, battled an addiction to pornography.
At the height of his career, around the time he represented Team GB during the Rio Olympics he visited adult sites up to ten times a day.
The now retired diver also admitted to sending nude photos to strangers as part of his ‘thrill-seeking’ desire.
The images eventually leaked onto the internet, which resulted in the breakup of his then relationship.
Freddie Woodward, now 30, overcame his addiction by going cold turkey
By the age of 20, the athlete had won bronze and silver medals and competed in the Olympic Games
‘If I had had bad training, yes [porn] was always the thing I could turn to,” he told the BBC.
Woodward said he first discovered porn at the age of 11, and within a year was gaining access to what he described as “hardcore” sites.
“I’m the first generation to have access to high-speed Internet porn,” he said.
‘I realized I had a problem when it came to homework and exams such as GCSEs and A-levels. Every time I sat down to revise, all I wanted to do was open those sites.”
Woodward is far from alone. According to polls, 82 percent of men say they watch porn regularly, while a third admit to being exposed to it before the age of 15.
The practice has also increased among women in recent years, with around half of British women surveyed YouGov say they have ever viewed adult content.
Meanwhile, addiction treatment centers that specialize in the problem say they have recently seen a surge in demand.
According to UKAT – which runs addiction treatment centers – the number of people they treat for problematic porn use has increased ‘significantly’ in recent years.
They now receive multiple questions about porn use every day, compared to one or two per week before 2020.
Experts say watching pornography can “desensitize” the sexual organs, which can lead to sexual dysfunction
Freddie Woodward said he carried his addiction problem like a ‘ball of shame’
UKAT estimates that around 1.8 million Brits watch porn every day, some several times a day.
Freddie Woodward said that despite the habit ruining his romantic relationships and his mental health, he ‘couldn’t quit’.
Instead, he carried the addiction around like a “ball of shame.”
Just two years after finishing 19th at the Rio Olympics – and narrowly missing the semi-finals – he retired from the sport at the age of 23.
It would take another four years before he overcame his addiction.
He did this by changing his mindset from someone trying to quit porn to “someone who doesn’t watch porn.”
Nowadays he travels the world making social media videos about food and culture, together with his girlfriend Chika Izumi, a former professional swimmer, whom he met in 2019.
Izumi, 33, has supported Woodward by speaking openly about his experiences with porn addiction.
“I’m so proud of him,” she said. ‘I’m so glad he did it. I know he will help so many boys and men. I can’t believe how brave he is to talk to the world.’
Experts have long linked pornography addiction to physical health problems, including erectile dysfunction in men.
Speaking to the Mail last year, Dr Sophie Dix, head of medical affairs at pharmacy MedExpress, said: ‘We are seeing increasing evidence linking increased porn consumption to erectile dysfunction and desensitisation, which reduces sexual satisfaction and intimate relationships.’
She urged addicted men to use website blockers to prevent porn from being so easily available, and to remove bookmarks from favorite porn websites.
She added that exercising more or socializing more can help break the relationship with porn. She added: ‘The number of Britons consuming porn in public… suggests it is moving beyond casual fun and entertainment into dependency.’
