“Not the most flattering photo of Emma, surely they can crop it a little better,” said Xavier Coppock on a post in which the athlete is depicted finishing a race in a bloodstained one-piece swimsuit. At that exact moment, a lengthy dispute broke out.
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Emma Pallant-Browne is a British athlete who competes in triathlon, duathlon, and aquathlon competitions. She just won a silver medal at the 2022 World Long Distance Triathlon Championships. In the famous Ironman 70.3 competition, she won two medals (silver in 2017 and bronze in 2022), as well as a gold medal at the European Championship the same year.
Emma took fourth place in her most recent multi-sport event. The PTO Tour European Open in Ibiza took place just days after she won the Duathlon World Championship.
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On the other side, Xavier Coppock, another triathlete, chose to comment on a photo of Emma that had been published on the official profile of the tournament that took place in Spain. Among the photographs, she is shown running with a crimson stain on her swimsuit from her menstruation.
Although we feel the athlete’s comment was not malicious, it sparked a commotion online. Emma was quick to answer. In the same forum, she tagged him and wrote a few sentences about him.
Five days later, the athlete shared the same shot on her profile. In the description, she sent a vital point. “Celebrating the incredible women in sports and the equally fantastic men who support them. “Humbled by the number of messages I’ve received from both men and women about the unglamorous reality of racing while on your period,” she said.
In the piece, she discussed the causes that contributed to this situation. Her light pink attire was chosen to avoid reflecting the sun’s rays, and she rolled over her bike, highlighting the stain. She squirted water at the hydration stations, but it didn’t remove the stain.
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“This is a women’s sport, and the more restrictions we can remove, the better. After a lengthy career, you end up with a photo like this, yet the thought of retouching it implies that something is wrong with it. I share it because there’s nothing wrong with it; it’s a natural occurrence,” she explained.
“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,” she said at the end of her moving speech.
