COMPETING in the Olympics is stressful at the best of times — but imagine doing so while having your period.

    Fu Yuanhui, one of China’s swimming stars, became an overnight social media sensation thanks to her frank post-race interviews and exaggerated expressions.

    Now, she’s become a talking point online again — for breaking a sporting taboo by talking about her period.

    China missed out on a medal in the women’s 4x100m medley relay Sunday, coming fourth.

    After the match, teammates Lu Ying, Shi Jinglin and Zhu Menghui were interviewed by a reporter — but Fu was initially nowhere to be found.

    It turns out she was crouched behind a board, doubled over in pain.

    When the journalist asked her (in Chinese) if she was OK, Fu said: “I didn’t swim well enough this time,” and apologized to her teammates.

    “It’s because my period came yesterday, so I felt particularly tired — but this isn’t a reason, I still didn’t swim well enough.”

    It was a poignant moment for many Chinese viewers, who took to social media to express their support for her.

    “I really admire Fu Yuanhui, for swimming while she was on her period — women can be affected during their periods, especially with period pain... she felt guilty for coming fourth, but Fu Yuanhui we’re still very proud of you,” user TAO wrote on Sina Weibo.

    It’s also sparked a discussion about tampons — which are not widely used in China.

    Many women weren’t familiar with how to use them, or had not heard of them before, the survey by Cotton Inc said.

    The subject of competing while menstruating is “definitely a taboo,” Georgie Bruinvels, a sports scientist, said.

    “A lot of [elite] sport coaches are men, and that makes it harder for women, who don’t want to say ‘I’m on my menstrual cycle.’ We need incidents like this to raise the issue and encourage more research,” she said.

    (SD-Agencies)