Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “Afraid of having a stain, or worse, that the tampon string sticks out”, gymnast Coline Devillard confides

Coline Devillard n’a plus peur d’avoir ses règles en compétition. XinHua – Nikku/MAXPPP

La triple championne d’Europe de gymnastique artistique Coline Devillard va participer aux JO de Paris 2024. La jeune femme de 23 ans s’est confiée sans tabou sur sa gêne en période de règles.

"My menstrual cycles are difficult for my sports practice. I'm losing a lot of blood, I have pain in my stomach and lower back", tells artistic gymnastics champion Coline Devillard to a colleague from the Huffington Post.

The double bronze medalist at the Worlds (2022 and 2023) is one of the headliners of the French team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Near the Huffington Post, the sportswoman talks about the difficulty of practicing a sport at the highest level during your period. Painful periods, which prevent him from jumping.

"It’is nature"

Coline Devillard is no longer afraid of having her period in competition, aware that "it’is the woman's body, it’is nature". But there are still fears: that of the stain, or worse, the thread of the tampon which protrudes from the leotard.

"We must free our voices"

Despite the constraints, the champion refuses to see her periods as a handicap. However, she regrets that the subject is still taboo at the French Gymnastics Federation. "We must free speech even more", she confided on the Huffington Post .