A pro triathlete who bled through her race suit while on her period was criticized online. She shared the 'beautiful' photo, calling it 'the reality of females in sport.'

• A photo shows the professional triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne running with a small period stain.
• A commenter said the race image wasn't "flattering," but Pallant-Browne said it's "reality."

A professional triathlete is celebrating a race photo that shows her period, despite criticism that the angle wasn't "flattering."

Emma Pallant-Browne, a 34-year-old British multisport champion, was competing in the PTO European Open triathlon in Ibiza, Spain, earlier this month when a sports photographer snapped a picture of her striding in a pink suit with a small blood stain.

The photo was posted on Instagram by the Professional Triathletes Organization — and initially received a comment that it could have been better "cropped."

Pallant-Browne responded: "Thanks for caring but definitely something I'm not shy to talk about because it's the reality of females in sport." She continued to say that sometimes her heaviest period day fell on race days, and that no tampon could contain it for the event's 3-plus-hour duration.

"So just as someone might get gut issues in a race I have to suck it up and give what I have and not be afraid to talk to women who have the same problem," she wrote.

Pallant-Browne's response was picked up by The Female Athlete Project, where it received more than 127,000 likes.

Many commenters said that they didn't even notice the stain. "My eyes were drawn to her awesome shoulders and evident fierceness pushing through some hard-core work!" one wrote. Others responded that Pallant-Browne's period was a good sign. "As a coach I see it as a sign of health. Racing at that elite level and still getting your period," another wrote.

Pallant-Browne called the photo "natural"

On her Instagram, Pallant-Browne, who placed fourth in the Open, said she was "humbled" by the numerous messages she received about the picture and the unglamorous reality of racing on your period.

"This is true female sport and the more barriers we can break through the better," she wrote.

She said she raced in a light-colored swimsuit instead of a darker-colored tri-suit with built-in shorts because of the heat and the fact that her body temperature was higher during her period.

Pallant-Browne said many other photos from the race didn't show her period because she poured water over herself at aid stations. When that doesn't work, she added, "you end up with one photo like this but the idea to edit it means there is something wrong with it."

Pallant-Browne said the photo was worth celebrating because female endurance athletes could stop getting their periods if they didn't fuel properly.

"If you wrote to me saying 99% of the women you know would be mortified at this then that is exactly why I am sharing this, because there really is nothing wrong," she wrote. "Its natural and coming from eating issues as an endurance runner when I was growing up where I didn't have my period, I now see it as beautiful."

According to her Instagram, Pallant-Browne is a three-time World Duathlon (running and cycling) champion, a World Aquathlon (swimming and running) champion, and an 18-time Ironman 70.3, or half-Ironman, champion.

Correction: May 30, 2023 — An earlier version of this story said that the Professional Triathletes Organization seemed to have taken the original Instagram photo of Pallant-Browne down. It is still up in a May 19 post.