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Chinese Swimmer Gives Zero F**ks About Being On Her Period At Rio

Fu Yuanhui, smashing period taboos since Rio 2016
China's Fu Yuanhui poses with her bronze medal on the podium of the Women's 100m Backstroke during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, 2016. / AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
GABRIEL BOUYS via Getty Images
China's Fu Yuanhui poses with her bronze medal on the podium of the Women's 100m Backstroke during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, 2016. / AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Last week, the world saw red after a leisure centre banned women from using the swimming pool while menstruating.

But now a Chinese Olympic swimmer has blown period taboos out of the water, after she got out of the pool and declared it was her time of the month.

Fu Yuanhui, who spoke of period pains after completing the women’s 4x100m medley relay on Sunday, has been praised for her honest admission on a global stage.

Fu Yuanhui poses with her bronze medal on the podium of the Women's 100m Backstroke.
GABRIEL BOUYS via Getty Images
Fu Yuanhui poses with her bronze medal on the podium of the Women's 100m Backstroke.

Fu, who achieved a bronze medal in the women’s 100m backstroke earlier in the games, came fourth in the women’s 4x100m medley relay.

After the race, she was spotted crouching down and holding her midriff.

A reporter for Chinese broadcaster CCTV went over to check she was okay, to which Fu replied: “I feel I didn’t swim well today. I let my teammates down.

“My period came yesterday, I’m feeling a bit weak, but this is not an excuse.”

She was later praised on Weibo for speaking so openly about periods, with one user writing: “[Menstruation] is an unspeakable issue in the public for women, but Fu actually talked about it in a live interview with CCTV.

“That’s exactly her personality. Cool.”

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It’s hard to believe that menstruation is still seen as taboo, but it’s sadly the case. Fu’s words come less than a week after a woman’s Facebook post about her local leisure centre banning women from using the pool while on their periods went viral.

Sophie Tabatadze, from Georgia, spotted the “offensive” and “misogynistic” sign at Vake Swimming Pool and Fitness Club, in the capital city of Tbilisi. It read: “Dear ladies! Do not go to the pool during periods.”

For the record, using a pool is completely safe and hygienic when you’re on your period, as long as you are wearing a tampon or menstrual cup.

“Tampons will collect the menstrual fluid before it leaves your body — so you don’t have to worry about signs of your period showing in the water,” reads the Tampax website.

Thanks to Fu’s admission about her cramps, the world is a more period-friendly place.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.