Swedish Paralympic athlete Olivia Breen said that at the British Championship, an official told her that her sprint underwear was “too short and inappropriate”, leaving her “dumb.”
The dual world champion and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist said that she made the remarks shortly after completing the long jump in Bedford on Sunday night.
In a post on social media, Brin, the Welsh athlete who will participate in the Tokyo Paralympic Games this summer, said that she had been wearing the same Adidas shorts for years, adding that this incident made her question “whether it is a male athlete.” Will be subject to the same criticism”.
The 24-year-old player with cerebral palsy said that women “should not feel uncomfortable with what they wear while playing.”
Brin wrote on Twitter: “I have always been very grateful to the volunteers who presided over the track and field competitions.
“They did a great job and gave us a chance to participate in the competition. However, I was disappointed tonight because when I finished the long jump, a female official felt it necessary to tell me that my sprint underwear was too short and inappropriate. . I am speechless.
“I have been wearing the same sprint-style briefs for many years. They are designed for competitions. I want to wear them in Tokyo. This makes me wonder if male contestants will receive the same criticism.
“I hope that no other female athletes have similar problems. I realize that there are regulations and guidelines for competition equipment, but women should not feel uncomfortable with their clothes during the competition, but should feel comfortable and comfortable. Comfortable. .”
“I have been wearing it for nine years and I have never had a problem. We should feel comfortable with the clothes we wear.
“We want to be as light as possible during the game, not to feel heavy, and to feel comfortable. We should wear the clothes we have the right to wear.”
Speaking of this, she added: “I just finished the game, thank the officials for their help and support, this official came over and said to me,’Can I talk to you?’ I was like’Yes, Any questions?
“She said,’I think you wear very revealing, I think you should consider buying shorts.’ I don’t know what to say. I was speechless. My first thought was “Are you kidding me?” “.
“I personally have never had self-awareness, but yesterday made me feel very angry. It is obvious from the responses I got on Instagram and Twitter that this has happened to many young girls and athletes and needs to be changed.
“I think people don’t say it because they feel scared. I want people to feel confident and say it because what happened is wrong. This situation needs to stop happening to us.
“I just take it away as much as possible. I really want to convey this message. I obviously want to change the women’s movement so that people can no longer comment on what we can and cannot wear.”
In a later tweet, Brin said: “Thank you all for all the lovely support messages. I am sorry to hear that it happened to so many other people. Some people asked me what competition I participated in yesterday, so this is a photo. I don’t think it is “objectionable” in the UKA regulations.”
According to the Guardian, Brin intends to submit a formal complaint to British athletics, and she told Sky Sports News that she believes the officials concerned “should receive education” rather than being punished.
At the same time, the England track and field team stated that they will urgently investigate the incident. Standard movement The British track team was also contacted for comments.
A spokesperson for the England Athletics Team said: “We are aware of this post and will investigate it as a matter of urgency.”
“The health of all track and field athletes is the most important. Everyone should feel at ease when competing and participating in this sport.”
