Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui is making waves in the pool and off it. On Sunday, the 20-year-old swimmer and her team placed fourth in the women’s 4×100-metre medley relay.
After the race, Fu was seen doubled up in pain. When a concerned reporter asked her if she had a stomach-ache, Fu said, “Because my period came yesterday, I’m feeling a bit weak, but this is not an excuse.”
Though menstruation is a normal biological process that most women in the reproductive age-group go through every month, there is a lot of squeamishness in discussing it openly.
Women athletes seldom acknowledge their pain or physical discomfort when playing during their period, not wanting to draw attention to what they see as a “personal issue”.
Last year, when British tennis player Heather Watson attributed her poor performance in the Australian Open to “girl things”, it raised eyebrows all around, including from fellow woman athletes who were taken aback by her candid statement.
Nisha Millet, who was the only woman in India’s swim team in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, spoke to The News Minute about her experience. “I realized when I got there that I was going to get my period during the event. The sports doctor we consulted told me that this would definitely impact my performance.”
Nisha was only 18 at that time and did not know what to do. “His advice was that I take birth control pills to delay my period. My parents were horrified because I was so young but the doctor told us that so many women athletes manage by doing this. So I eventually took the pills and it was fine.”
Nisha says that prior to this instance at the Olympics, she’d never heard fellow women athletes discussing periods as an issue when it came to performance. “We hear about it only because it’s the big stage and everything is very serious. Every small factor counts. You have top notch sports doctors assisting you and it’s only then that we even mention such a thing,” she says.
After Heather Watson spoke up last year, Indian athlete Anju Bobby George spoke to Scroll.in about losing out on two big long jump competitions because she was on her period. Though she was criticized for her loss, Anju never told anyone the reason.
Nisha says, “As athletes, we have to go through all kinds of tests. For the drug tests, you’ll have someone with you even when you pee to make sure that you’re not cheating. When we can take all this embarrassment in our stride, why can’t we talk about our period too? It’s after all only a natural process!”
Nisha strongly feels that the time has come for the sports world to break the taboo and talk about menstruation openly.
This year, we’ve come a little further with Fu calling “girl things” by its actual name.
Maybe next year, we will acknowledge period pain as a real thing and not worry that it will be seen as an “excuse”.