Olympian Cate Campbell reveals how she overcame ‘period anxiety’ while training as young swimmer

The Olympian has opened up about how she would often sit on the sidelines at training as a young swimmer, too embarrassed to don bathers and enter the pool.

Cate Campbell remembers all too well the debilitating anxiety she used to feel during her “time of the month.” As a young athlete in the highly competitive swimming world, conversations about periods and menstruation were completely taboo.

“Starting to menstruate as a young athlete was stressful and confronting,” Campbell recalls, now aged 32 and retired from competitive swimming.

The young swimmer, who would go on to become one of our most decorated athletes of all time, breaking world records and collecting championships like cakewalk, would often sit on the sidelines at training, too embarrassed to don bathers and enter the pool for fear of leaking.

“I grew up in quite a conservative household and didn’t feel comfortable openly discussing periods with anyone,” she said.

“I remember waking up in the morning to go to training and after discovering that my period had started overnight, would feel too anxious and overwhelmed, and just stay in bed.

“I internalised the belief that periods were gross, or dirty.

Cate Campbell has opened up about how she overcame period anxiety as a young swimmer.

“It felt like something which girls shouldn’t talk about or draw attention to.

The prolific swimmer, and current world record holder in the short course women’s 100m freestyle, vividly recalls a fear of leaking during her schooling days, something she says was never discussed among her peers.

“I would be so stressed at school all day that my pad was leaking, it had a huge impact on being able to continue with everyday life,” she said.

“So many of my friends opted to sit out of school sport due to their period.

“Some of my squad members even gave up on swimming around that age.”

Though Campbell managed to quell the voices of shame which plagued her young mind, going on to enjoy a stellar and lengthy career, new research has found thousands of young female athletes are opting out of sport altogether due to increasingly alarming cases of period anxiety.

Campbell is one of several high profile female athletes backing the fight against period anxiety, sharing her personal menstruation story to help inspire a generation of young Aussies.

In a recent survey by Share the Dignity, a menstrual equity charity, a whopping 68 per cent of respondents said they’d missed sport due to their period, with over 76 per cent citing a fear of leaking as the main reason.

Share the Dignity founder Rochelle Courtenay said the 2024 survey identified several areas where girls experienced period anxiety.

“This research is crucial in helping us identify practical solutions to break down the barrier, ensuring those who menstruate feel confident and supported to participate fully in sport,” she said.

Olympic swimmer Cate Campbell has spoken up about period anxiety in sport to try to bring about change.

In a crucial step towards resolution, Ms Courtenay’s charity has teamed up with Victoria University, in a bid to further understand the phenomenon of period anxiety and come up with tangible solutions.

As Head of the Susan Alberti Women in Sport Chair at VU, Professor Clare Hanlon has been extensively researching sports accessibility and participation for women and girls, and believes the provision of period products at sporting facilities has the potential to influence a person’s participation in that sport.

“There’s an urgency in understanding what the effects of providing period products are, and how the government and the sport and leisure industry can support people who menstruate to enable them to play sport,” Professor Hanlon said.

“A UK study shows the majority of respondents who menstruate have skipped sport at some stage because of their period, primarily due to the fear of leaking and staining their clothes.

“We need to understand the situation in Australia.”

Cate Campbell wants tangible solutions for period anxiety in sport.

Although some local sporting clubs do provide athletes with menstrual products, it’s not a mandatory policy in Australia for clubs to do so.

Likewise, although the Allan government last year announced the rollout of more than 700 free period product vending machines through Victoria in 2025, none will be located within sporting grounds.

Campbell vehemently agrees with Professor Hanlon, saying she’d love to see period products introduced in sports clubs and high schools throughout the country.

“Things have improved a lot since I first started getting my period, but it’s still seen as a taboo topic,” she said.

“I have never had access to any period products at any of the sporting facilities I have ever used. “There wasn’t a single supply kept in any female change rooms either at my swimming clubs or at any of the schools I attended.

“I’d love to see period products provided in sports clubs and high schools – when we normalise period products we normalise periods.

“If we feel that we need to hide or be ashamed of the period products, then it follows that we feel we need to hide or be ashamed of our periods.”

Originally published as Olympian Cate Campbell reveals how she overcame ‘period anxiety’ while training as young swimmer