Track star: Every athlete I knew had an abortion

AN Olympic champion has claimed that every woman track-and-field athlete she knows has had an abortion.

Retired US 400m star Sanya Richards-Ross, right, revealed she had a termination just before leaving for the 2008 Beijing Games, where she won two medals. The 32year-old, who is pregnant again, said that at the time, she was determined not to give up her Olympic dream. So she flew to China for training the day after the procedure, despite her doctor telling her to wait two weeks before exercising. But she said the decision ‘broke’ her – and now hopes to help other young athletes in the same position.

‘I literally don’t know another female track-and-field athlete who hasn’t had an abortion – and that’s sad’, she told Sports Illustrated’s Now programme. Many athletes ‘don’t want to take the Pill because you put water weight on’, she explained.