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 race photo shows professional triathlete Emma Pallant-Brown running with a small period stain. 
• A commenter said the image wasn't "flattering," but Pallant-Brown said it's "reality." 
• Pallant-Brown said it's "beautiful" since she hasn't always menstruated in endurance sports. 

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

Emma Pallant-Brown, a 34-year-old British multi-sport champion, was competing in the PTO European Open triathlon in Ibiza 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. It initially received a comment that it could have been better "cropped."

Pallant-Brown 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 falls on race day, and that no tampon can 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-Brown's response was picked up by The Female Athlete Project, where it's yielded over 127,000 likes.

Many commenters 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-Brown's period is a good sign. "As a coach I see it as a sign of health. Racing at that elite level and still getting your period," one wrote. 

Pallant-Brown called the photo "natural"  

On her own Instagram, Pallant-Brown, who placed fourth in the Open, said she was "humbled" by the number of messages she has 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, as opposed to a darker colored tri-suit with built-in shorts, due to the heat and the fact that her body temperature is higher during her period. 

Pallant-Brown said many other photos from the race don't show her period, since she pours 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-Brown said the photo is worth celebrating, especially since female endurance athletes can stop getting their periods if they're not fueling 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-Brown is a three-time World Duathlon (running and cycling) champion, World Aquathlon (swimming and running) champion, and 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-Brown down. It is still up in a May 19 post.