Paralympian Olivia Breen left ‘speechless’ after official said sprint shorts were ‘too short’

Olivia Breen, a double Paralympic world champion for the United Kingdom, says she was left “speechless” this week after an official told her that her sprint shorts were “too short and inappropriate.”

Breen, who has cerebral palsy, said the comments were made over the weekend by an official at the English Championships.

“I have been wearing the same style sprint briefs for many years and they are specifically designed for competing in,” Breen said in a statement shared to Twitter. “I will hopefully be wearing them in Tokyo. It made me question whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised.” 

Here something I felt like sharing that’s happened to me today at my competition @EnglandAthletic pic.twitter.com/QlYfPDmxEV

— oliviabreen (@BreenOlivia) July 18, 2021

“I recognise that there needs to be regulations and guidelines in relation to competition kit but women should not be made to feel self conscious about what they are wearing when competing but should feel comfortable and at ease,” she continued.

Breen, who won gold for the 4×100 meter relay race at the 2015 IPC World Championships and won bronze at the 2012 London Paralympics, is set to again represent the United Kingdom in the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics.

In a separate interview with CNN, Breen noted that the comments from the woman “made me angry” and could have hurt younger competitors’ self-esteem. 

“When you are competing, you want to feel as light as possible to make you perform better,” Breen told CNN of the shorts she wears. “We are entitled to wear what we are given and what we can wear.”