In an incident at the English Championships on Sunday, two-time Paralympic world champion Olivia Breen said that a volunteer official called her sprinting briefs “too short and inappropriate.”
According to Breen, a female official made the remarks prior to the long jump competition. On Monday, Breen, 24, posted on Twitter that she feels “quite disappointed” and “was left speechless” by the official’s comments.
“I have been wearing the same style sprint briefs for many years and they are specifically designed for competing in,” Breen wrote. “I will hopefully be wearing them in Tokyo. It made me question whether a male competitor would be simply criticized. I hope no other female athletes had similar issues.
“I recognize that there needs to be regulations and guidelines in relation to competition kit but women should not be made to feel self conscious about what they are wearing when competing but should feel comfortable and at ease.”
According to The Guardian, the shorts in question were the Adidas official 2021 briefs.
Breen, who has cerebral palsy, is slated to partake in the Tokyo Paralympics in August, representing the United Kingdom due to her Welsh heritage. She previously won a gold medal in the T35-38 100-meter sprint relay at the 2015 IPC World Championships and the T38 long jump at the same competition in 2017.
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