Aussie ignores rule on waterslide despite 'gory' risk for women
Champion diver Rhiannan Iffland scrunched up her face while pointing at the sign before clambering onto the slide.
Women have been banned from using Europe's fastest waterslide but that didn't stop a female Aussie athlete from scrunching up her face at the rule and going for it anyway.
Last week champion diver Rhiannan Iffland, 32, visited Area 47 adventure park in Austria which has a variety of extreme activities, such as bungy jumping, white-water rapids and speedy waterslides, like the most popular attraction Iffland braved.
The slide boasts speeds of up to 80 km/h and women have been banned from using it over safety concerns.
"Apparently women are not supposed to do this slide," Iffland wrote over footage of herself climbing into the slide on social media. She is seen pointing at a sign above which has a red line crossed over a female symbol before sitting down at the entrance, crossing her ankles and pushing herself off.
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Why are women banned from using Europe's fastest waterslide?
High speed, high pressure water slides can pose a significant risk to women as the combination can result in the water shooting into their bodies, particularly vaginally, causing infection or lacerations.
There are many cautionary tales involving women and waterslides, including one last year where an eight-year-old girl lost half a litre of blood after suffering internal injuries on a slide in WhiteWater World water park on the Gold Coast. The same year a US woman sued Walt Disney Parks and Resorts after she sustained severe vaginal lacerations which reportedly caused her bowel to protrude through her abdominal wall after using a waterslide in Florida's Disney World.
It is due to these known risks that Area 47 banned women from using its slide, with Iffland going against the water parks rules.
"It was never my intent to mock the safety regulations of this waterslide," Iffland told news.com.au. "A person’s safety is paramount and I am constantly weighing up any danger with my job. To suggest otherwise, is wrong."
People had a mixed reaction to the video online, some calling it "scary" while others praised her. One woman pointed out very few people know "why women aren't supposed to go on this slide" while another explained it can "literally split your uterus open... [it] can be pretty gory."
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