World Aquatics, the governing body for aquatic sports including swimming, diving, artistic swimming and open water, in partnership with former Olympian Pernille Blume and current European champion Caroline Jouisse created a four-part webinar on women’s health in aquatic sport.
The online event, watched by hundreds of worldwide attendees, discussed the menstrual cycle’s effects on women’s athletic performance and sought to break the taboo on talking about women’s menstrual cycles. Both Blume and Jouisse had previously hosted in-person workshops at the 2024 World Aquatic Championships in Budapest, and they aimed to continue the positive momentum from those sessions in the webinar.
In recapping the event, World Aquatics said, “The level of engagement and interaction was high, with active Q&A segments and engaging discussions in the live chat. This demonstrated a widespread desire for more open conversations around women’s health in sport.”
Blume, 2016 gold medalist and 2020 bronze medalist in the 50-meter freestyle event, told attendees, “For a long time, I felt I had to keep this part of my life hidden for my career, but learning to understand and work with my cycle made me not only a better athlete, but a more empowered one.”
“When I started out, these discussions didn’t happen,” said Jouisse, a 2022 European champion gold medalist in the open water swim. “To see this conversation happening so openly now is incredibly encouraging. The level of engagement in the webinars is exciting and I truly hope it is just the beginning.”
As Blume and Jouisse led the webinar, they conducted a poll that revealed “50% of participants feel there is stigma or embarrassment when speaking about menstrual health – particularly with coaches or fellow athletes.”
One such coach, Tom Rushton, added insights from the coach’s perspective. “High performance and elite competition isn’t just about ensuring strong physical output – it’s about knowing your athlete as a whole person. Creating space where athletes feel safe to talk about their personal experiences and health is so important and is a necessary foundation for peak performance.”
The webinar series will continue in June 2025, when World Aquatics says it hopes to continue its mission of supporting female athletes in and out of the water.
