Sanya Richards Ross: I literally do not know another female track athlete who hasn't had an abortion and that's sad

Probably doesn't know Lolo Jones well - they didn't go to the same colleges or have the same coach or run on relays together. All she's saying is of the people she knows well enough to discuss this sort of thing that they've all had abortions. Are there some exception - I'm sure - but overall I don't doubt what she is saying is true and that it is more common than people think.

Lolo sticks to the big A to avoid unwanted pregnancies

The A does not stand for Abstinence....

Who gives a fuck? Abortion is uncontroverial except to religious whack jobs.

Do female track athletes make a habit of telling Sanya about their abortion(s)? Seems odd to me.

her fiance was a pro already making millions and sanya was on a big contract na dthe world leadr that year unless it wasnt his

LetsRun.com wrote:

but in our community people don't want to take the pill cause you put 'water-weight' on, and of course as an athlete, you want to be able to stay as fit and as healthy as possible.

Little cracks in her story... you're telling me as a pro athlete she's not on an IUD if she's concerned about water weight and is sexually active? The idea that a coach, teammate, doctor, SOMEONE wouldn't suggest this is literally unbelievable to me. I do not believe her.

In my experience as an elite athlete, I did not know any athlete who had an abortion. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, just that I was unaware of it. Also, most distance runners I knew were on the pill. In addition to avoiding pregnancy, it also allowed them to time their periods and avoid that happening during major events.

I am not going to judge Sanya, as I believe people need to make their own decision. It is not a decision I could have made. I think it is very brave of her to speak out now. She could have kept this secret and had no reason to tell her story now. I choose to believe her explanation as to why she is sharing her story now, and hope that it will be helpful to other female athletes to hear it, and hope it will be healing for her having shared this information.

Among the elite women runners that I know, there are several who were actually several months pregnant before they even realized it. These were mostly distance runners who weren't having periods who didn't even consider that any symptoms were due to pregnancy because they were not menstruating. Others, most recently Sarah Brown, found that they were pregnant at an "inopportune" time, and put their running career on a temporary hold.

Best wishes to you, Sanya, with your pregnancy now. I hope that you will enjoy motherhood as much as I have.

She's trying to sell books. She's released this bit just to create some buzz. A book about a woman that is fast, and then retired isn't really interesting.

themanontherun wrote:

LetsRun.com wrote:

but in our community people don't want to take the pill cause you put 'water-weight' on, and of course as an athlete, you want to be able to stay as fit and as healthy as possible.

Little cracks in her story... you're telling me as a pro athlete she's not on an IUD if she's concerned about water weight and is sexually active? The idea that a coach, teammate, doctor, SOMEONE wouldn't suggest this is literally unbelievable to me. I do not believe her.

I don't think IUDs were nearly as popular in 2008, and, at least for some IUDs, doctors wouldn't put one in unless you already had kids (I think that may have changed recently though).

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

I don't think IUDs were nearly as popular in 2008, and, at least for some IUDs, doctors wouldn't put one in unless you already had kids (I think that may have changed recently though).

They weren't as popular but they were out there; have been for decades. And their relative popularity and a doctor's likelihood of recommending them don't invalidate what I said in the context of an elite athlete.

I have only gleaned on meaningful thing from this thread.

The sport needs more Ruth Wysocki's.

Lolo rides a rabbit.

if Santa and hubby support BLM they should adopt.

It's hardly surprising you were unaware of any other elite athlete having an abortion. It's not something casually chatted about. Agreed?

Given the percentage of American women who have had abortions, it's far more likely you, and the rest of us, know many women who have had an abortion. Also given the nut job reactions from those who feel the need to point out how women should have "avoided getting pregnant" (really, are any of these man-splaining statements news to any woman??), most women do not publicly share such a private decision.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move on to your own lives.

The mansplaining on women's hormononal, birth control, pregnancy and athletic experiences in this thread is out of control.

So right.

Eric a blair wrote:

Not sure this has been covered yet- women of color are five times as likely to terminate a pregnancy as their white counterparts. So probably this is a sprinter thing rather than a track thing.

The twist is that richards Ross is very rich, which separates her from many African Americans. And she is carribean. But maybe race plays a role in her "everyone has had an abortion" comment.

A higher than normal percentage of female athletes have abortions, Black or White.

dirtbag runner wrote:

Do female track athletes make a habit of telling Sanya about their abortion(s)? Seems odd to me.

She is not saying all female track athletes, she is saying the ones that she knows.

Reading comprehension is an endangered species these days.

morans everywhere wrote:

let me correct you wrote:

Why shouldn't the person who is most impacted by the pregnancy be the one who is vigilant about preventing it? A woman is perfectly free to tell a man that he may not stick his penis in her if there is not a condom on it.

+1

Thank you BOTH for underscoring my point. Morons, indeed LOL

Agreed. SRR statement doesn't pass simple credibility tests. Did she take a poll? Or did she ask every elite female runner if they had an abortion? No. The end.