Dina Asher-Smith comments ‘help start the conversation’ into periods in sport

Dina Asher-Smith has been praised for speaking up after revealing “girl stuff” caused issues for her at the European Championships in Munich.

Asher-Smith booked her place in the 200 metres final on Thursday evening, but earlier in the week had pulled out during the 100 metres final due to cramping in her calves.

She told BBC Sport she had been affected by her period and called for more research to be done into how menstrual cycles can affect the performances of female athletes.

Scottish distance runner Eilish McColgan also described in her BBC Sport column the effects periods have had on her, revealing she has twice dropped out of competitions due to her time of the month.

Dr Rebecca Robinson works in exercise medicine with Marylebone Health, and she acknowledged just how much menstrual cycles can alter the impact an athlete has during performances.

“It is the case that women will be affected very differently by the menstrual cycle, at different times in it,” she told PA news agency.

“There will be some where it will be a lesser degree impacting their performance, some it’ll be a really significant degree.

“I just think it’s really important that it’s talked about and recognised so that, if you’ve got young athletes starting off and it’s holding them back they might think, ‘oh, I’m not the only one, I’m not going to step away from my sport because of this’.

“And if it’s someone at a higher level, it’s not feeling like it’s an excuse or anything like that at all, it’s a valid reason.

“We need to make sure that everything around them is the best it can be to help them perform.”

Women’s Super League side Manchester City announced last year they had partnered with the English Institute of Sport to look at how female athlete