Being an athlete demands immense dedication and resilience. The intense training required for competitions isn’t suited for everyone. This female athlete demonstrated her dedication to her sport and delivered a compelling message about her experience.
British athlete Emma Pallant-Browne competes in various events, including triathlons, duathlons, and aquathlons. She is a celebrated competitor, with recent achievements including a silver medal at the 2022 World Long Distance Triathlon Championships. In the Ironman 70.3 series, she earned a silver medal in 2017, a bronze in 2022, and secured a gold medal at the European Championship.
She took part in the Ibiza event, where, like many competitors, she was photographed, and the images were later posted on the event’s official page.
Another athlete, Xavier Coppock, observed something in the photo that others might have overlooked, which soon became a major topic of discussion.
In the image, Pallant-Browne was wearing a pink and blue swimsuit. The photo, shared from the event, revealed a red stain, a result of her period during the race.
Coppock commented on the image, “Not the most flattering photo of Emma; surely they could crop it a little better.”
Instead of feeling embarrassed by the incident, Emma Pallant-Browne chose to embrace it and turn it into a teaching moment for the sports world and beyond.
She promptly responded to Coppock’s comment, explaining that her period was regular and, despite using the most absorbent tampons, they often couldn’t last more than three hours on some days. She thanked him for his concern and highlighted that this is a reality many female athletes face while competing.
A few days later, she posted the same picture on her Instagram account to reinforce her message. “Celebrating the amazing women in sport and the equally amazing men who champion them. Humbled by the number of messages I’ve had from both men and women about the unglamorous reality of racing on your period,” she wrote.
She then provided context for the photo, explaining, “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).”
She further clarified, “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.”
She continued, “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.”
She selected her outfit because it offered the greatest safety and comfort during her competition. She aimed to convey that women should not feel embarrassed about something as natural as having a period.
“This is a women’s sport and the more barriers we can break, the better. After a long career, you end up with a photo like this, but the idea of editing it means there is something wrong with it. I share it because there’s really nothing wrong with it, it’s a natural thing,” she stated.
“So if you have a photo like this, save it, cherish it, and remember how you performed on a tough day because one day you might just be able to help someone else with it,” the renowned athlete wrapped up her inspiring message to other women.