Posted on 09/12/2025 7:16:38 PM PDT by Morgana
A former windsurfing world champion and Olympian has claimed she was once told she was 'too fat' to compete after becoming pregnant.
Blanca Manchon, 38, enjoyed a glittering career on the water after competing at her first Olympic Games as a 17-year-old - and went on to win seven world championships including a gold at the 2018 Mediterranean Games.
Yet, despite competing in sailing events at the 2004 and 2020 Olympics, Manchon was denied a places at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro as a result of her giving birth.
To make matters worse, she was even dropped from her sponsor Nike and alleges that the global sports brand included an 'anti-pregnancy clause' in her contract.
Manchon opened up on the experience at a round table held by the Spanish Football Federation named: 'Pregnancy, a right classified as a temporary illness'.
'My career had been going well until I decided to get pregnant at 29. That same year the Rio Games were held, so I thought I had four years until the next one. Throughout the entire process, I had my private and public sponsors, and I was in the top three of my Federation (sailing) of most highly valued athletes,' she said.
'The federation told me I was fine, but when was I ready to compete? I was freaking out with the things they were saying to me. I even thought it wasn't worth it. I was pregnant, my hormones were raging, and I didn't have to justify my return-to-competition date.
'In my federation, the head of Olympic preparation told me, 'Blanca, either you're competing in two months or I can't justify your being on the team.' I asked him, 'What did I do wrong?' and he replied, 'Since you're pregnant, the bosses don't trust you'.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Quite the education -
Can Men Get Pregnant?
Yes, it’s possible for men to become pregnant and give birth to children of their own. In fact, it’s probably a lot more common than you might think.
https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/can-men-get-pregnant#if-you-have-a-uterus-and-ovaries
"To me it makes her more goddess like?!"
And it’s sad that in so many contexts up till now: pregnancy is treated like a disease.
A transgender man is a biological female.
A transgender woman is a biological male.
The article is about a natural She who got pregnant.
"Honey, do these pants make me look fat?""No they don't make you look fat. You are fat."
From what I read, she only failed to qualify because she was pregnant and the committee didn’t ‘trust’ her; not because he couldn’t perform.
s/b SHE couldn’t perform.
Everything is a sport in the new Olympics. Nobody really cares anyway.
Has it been proven that they inseminated her contract with the pregnancy clause?
Wow
‘In my federation, the head of Olympic preparation told me, ‘Blanca, either you’re competing in two months or I can’t justify your being on the team.’ I asked him, ‘What did I do wrong?’ and he replied, ‘Since you’re pregnant, the bosses don’t trust you’.
Are there automatic qualifiers? Could the coach put her on the team even if she didn’t participate in the qualifiers?
It sounds like that’s what she wanted to happen.
I recall Carl Lewis’ sponsors wanted to put him in the 4x100 relay even though he finished 8th in the final qualifier. (He otherwise qualified in the long jump, so he did make the team). Such a move is extremely rare except in the case of injury. The coach said no.
“Women can be physically active while pregnant”
I worked with a triathlete women, 2 days before she gave birth I saw her running (not jogging) down the road. I asked her about the possible effects on the baby, she responded that her obstetrician is a marathoner.
The baby girl came out fine and mom continued to compete.
All contracts are discrimination. Don’t like it, don’t sign it.
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