How do female Olympic swimmers deal with periods?
Professional swimmers often use products like tampons or menstrual cups to absorb blood and prevent leaks. Elite swimmers may also use birth control to shift their periods. While water pressure can temporarily slow the flow of menstruation, your period doesn’t stop in the water, so some form of protection is necessary. Managing periods as an Olympic swimmer involves a combination of personal strategies, supportive environments, and innovative products. From using tampons and menstrual cups to leveraging period swimwear and hormonal birth control, athletes have various tools at their disposal.
What do female swimmers use during periods?
While it is not recommended to swim with a sanitary pad in place, both tampons and menstrual cups are completely safe to use internally. Many competitive swimmers use these options when participating in practices or events on their period. Period-friendly swimwear has also recently entered the market as an option. Yes, you can, but you should use a tampon. If you’re just hanging out by the pool, you can use a pad, but I would wear shorts or a cover-up over your swimsuit bottoms. Pads are absorbent, and the sticky part will likely fail if you wear it in the water, so I wouldn’t wear one if you’re actually going swimming.
Why are Olympic swimmers hairless?
Shaving is the ritual swimmers perform before a big meet, removing all hair that cannot be covered by a swim cap or suit. And, truth be told, a lot of the hidden hair will go as well. The goal is to reduce drag (a small factor) and enhance the mental gain from a more streamlined sensation in the water (a big factor). When you’re growing you leg hair, it’s creating more drag when you’re in the water and you’re not removing those dead skin cells constantly with the razor,” Roe said. It just creates a less aerodynamic feel in the water. Shaving] allows you to be able to feel the water a little bit better while you’re at it.