‘Every female athlete I know has had abortion’

Sanya Richards-ross, the London 2012 double gold medallist, has claimed that every woman trackand-field athlete she knows has had an abortion, after revealing she had one herself just before the previous Olympics.

Richards-ross, who won the 400metres and 4x400m titles five years ago, having also claimed relay gold in 2004 and 2008, disclosed that she terminated a pregnancy one day before leaving for the Beijing Games in her new book, Chasing Grace: What the Quarter Mile Has Taught Me about God and Life.

In an interview to promote the book with Sports Illustrated’s Now programme, the retired 32-year-old said abortions were widespread among female athletes and that there was a lack of accurate information about how to avoid becoming pregnant.

“It’s an issue that’s not really talked about, especially in sports, and a lot of young women have experienced this,” she said. “I literally don’t know another female trackand-field athlete who hasn’t had an abortion – and that’s sad.

“So, for me, I’m hoping that this will open up some discussions to helping, especially, a lot of young women who were in my situation not to experience what I did.”

Richards-ross, who won individual bronze and relay gold in Beijing, added: “At that time in your life, when you’re in college, you don’t feel comfortable talking to your mom. So, a lot of the information you get is from your peers.

“It’s going to sound silly to some people but, in our community, people don’t want to take the pill because you put water weight on.

“And then people tell you when you’re extremely fit, you can’t get pregnant because our [menstrual] cycles are shorter. So, there’s a lot of miseducation that happens to young women in college.”

Revealing her abortion in her book, Richards-ross, who is expecting her first child, wrote: “I made a decision that broke me, and one from which I would not immediately heal. Abortion would now forever be a part of my life. A scarlet letter I never thought I’d wear.”

Four years ago, British ex-400m hurdler Tasha Danvers revealed that she almost had an abortion months before the 2004 Olympics, which she missed due to pregnancy. Danvers returned from becoming a mother to win Commonwealth silver and Beijing bronze.