Triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne recently took to Instagram to share a snap of herself competing in the PTO European Open triathlon in Ibiza on 19 May. In the photo, Emma sports a period stain on the bottom of her pink and blue swimsuit.
According to reports by Independent, Emma’s post came after the photo first went viral earlier in May, when it was shared by Professional Triathletes Organisation’s (PTO) on Instagram.
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In her post sharing the image to her personal Instagram, Pallant thanks the men and women who have reached out in support:
“Humbled by the amount of messages I’ve had from both men and women (I am going to give menstrual cups another go) about the unglamorous reality of racing on your period.”
“This is true female sport and the more barriers we can break through the better.”
The triathlete then goes on to address comments on PTO’s original post asking why she hadn’t ‘just covered’ up or worn a pair of pants. Not taking the comments to heart and rather sharing the reality of competing on a period, Emma explains:
“I raced in a swimsuit because I over heat and pass out in hot races, on my period my body temp is also higher.”
“I have a full length suit for the cooler races in dark colours but the light colours we were experimenting with for the cooling effect. It is dark at the bottom and at the back but my bike position has changed and now I roll more forward (lesson learnt for next years suit design).”
“A lot of the photos you can’t see anything, pouring water over yourself at aid stations does the trick and if it doesn’t you end up with one photo like this but the idea to edit it means there is something wrong with it.”
“If you wrote to me saying 99% of the women you know would be mortified at this then that is exactly why I am sharing this, because there really is nothing wrong. Its natural and coming from eating issues as an endurance runner when I was growing up where I didn’t have my period, I now see it as beautiful.”
“So if you have a photo like this, save it, cherish it, remember how you performed on a tough day because one day you might just be able to help someone else with it.”
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Feature Image: Instagram / @em_pallant
