This athlete is speaking out against double standards in sportswear

Brut America

She was told her sprint briefs were “too short” to compete at the Tokyo Games. Double Paralympic world champion Olivia Breen tells Brut what happened next ...

Transcript

00:00I will be wearing these in Tokyo.

00:02So we should compete what we feel comfortable in and what we feel confident in.

00:21We shouldn't be told what we can't wear on camera.

00:37She just said I think your briefs are too revealing and I think you should consider

00:41buying a pair of shorts.

00:42I was just like, uh, what?

00:46So I literally said to her, are you joking?

00:49And then she just said, no, I think you should really consider buying a pair of shorts.

00:53And it just completely took me by surprise.

00:55Like we are living in completely different times.

00:57We're not living in the 18th century, we're living in 2021 and you can't go around saying

01:03that to people.

01:04I've never realized how many girls have been told about their briefs.

01:17It seems to be the girls with big bums.

01:19Um, cause that's what we, that's what athletes have.

01:22We have big glutes and that's where the power comes from is our glutes.

01:26You should be proud of your foot.

01:27You should be proud of your body and be confident to be showing off your body.

01:31And that's what we work for.

01:45I really feel for those girls and it's very strange that it happened on the same weekend

01:50as me, but opposite situations.

01:55It's just like, what kind of world are we living in at the moment?

01:58It's like, oh, your, your, your, your, you know, shorts are too long.

02:02Oh, your shorts are too revealing.

02:04It's like, where's the real point?

02:12On Sunday, a guy made a really good point to me.

02:15So the male's long jump was after my competition and the male's long jump.

02:20And he said to me, no official came up to me during the long jump.

02:24I have my top off and no one's saying anything to me.

02:27And I'm like, if we had done that, like if we'd gone topless, you know, that would it

02:32be like, oh my God, what are you doing?

02:36But why, why is it okay for Martin to do it and why can't girls do it?

02:43Obviously when I jump and sprint, I want to be as light as possible.

02:47I don't have as many layers because I feel like it makes me perform better.

02:50And it just makes yourself feel more confident.

02:52And also on Sunday in the UK, it was like 32 degrees, which is very rare.

02:58It was a boiling hot day.

03:00And yeah, that's why I wear them.

03:12Basically, I don't stop moving.

03:26It affects my coordination and it just, my muscles get tighter.

03:31I get tighter, but you know, sport has made such a big difference to me.

03:35I wouldn't be the person who I am today without sport.

03:38Having that self-belief that you're actually good at something, you know,

03:41and you should always keep trying and never give up.

03:47I've had a lot of messages from young girls saying that, you know,

03:50they've experienced the same issue as me.

03:52And they just said, you know, thank you so much for raising awareness.

03:55And I just said, you know, I'm so sorry that you've been through the same thing as me.

03:59And I'm trying to change that, you know, and that's why I spoke up

04:04and it needs to be changed and it can't happen again.

04:11you

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