For the uninitiated, it might seem strange. Or gross. Depending on your age, body, and life experience. Urinary incontinence—UI for short—is when you can’t control your bladder. And it’s not an uncommon occurrence for female athletes, especially powerlifters.
A recent video of a champion powerlifter from Sweden experiencing UI has prompted an online debate on the topic.
Most people in the sport say it’s quite normal, and isn’t really that big of a deal.
Alba Boström from Sweden won first place in the 63kg class
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
It's not the first video of a female powerlifter experiencing UI during a competition. But a recent example is of champion Alba Boström from Sweden, who came in first place in the 63kg class at the World Classic Powerlifting Championship 2025 that just took place in Germany.
According to her social media page, Boström has been “a top ranked powerlifter for the last couple of years and works full time as an Online Coach.”
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
In videos of Boström performing a deadlift at the competition, it's clear she is experiencing UI. In the video, Boström does not seem to notice, nor does anyone else in the arena.
Research finds 75% of female powerlifters experience SUI while deadlifting
Image credits: estendenciaenx / X
In 2018, the American College of Sports Medicine conducted an anonymous survey on the matter to determine “trends related to SUI in female powerlifters who do not otherwise have risk factors for or symptoms of SUI in their daily lives.”
The study defines SUI, or “stress urinary incontinence,” as: “involuntary leakage from the urethra, synchronous with exertion/effort, coughing or sneezing.”
The study asked a sample of female powerlifters between the ages of 18-35 with no prior history of bladder-related issues how often they experienced SUI.
The study found that almost 75 percent of participants said that they have experienced SUI while training, with the deadlift being the number one time when it happens, followed by squats.
Image credits: estendenciaenx / X
The study found that only 35 percent of those polled reported that their symptoms caused them anxiety. In short, no one cares, and the public shouldn’t either.
“We are a family”: Other female powerlifters weighed in on the topic
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
Cristina Rigden, a powerlifter from Herne Bay in Kent, England has been lifting competitively for over two years. “I started lifting because I was told I would never walk without sticks or crutches and I wasn't having it. Menopause also played a role in why I started lifting,” Rigden told Bored Panda.
She says once she started lifting more than 120 kilos, she began experiencing UI while doing squats and deadlifts. But at her gym, no one batts an eye when it happens.
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
“During training no one at my gym cares, I am part of an exclusive gym and we are a family,” she said.
Still, Rigden says, stigma exists. “During competition I personally wear a pad because in competition to a lot of women (not so much men) it's not acceptable,” she said.
But, she countered that “people really need to get over themselves about it.”
“A little urine is somehow bad?”: Rigden says sometimes accidents happen
Image credits: albabostrm / Instagram
Image credits: bepositivewithchrissy / Instagram
Rigden says that sometimes, even though she wears a pad, accidents still happen. “It happens often when training and sometimes can escape the pad I am wearing,” she told Bored Panda.
She clarified that if you have a female body, with age and pregnancies, and if you’re a weightlifter, you will likely experience UI at some point.
“People don't seem to be able to grasp that especially after a certain age and child birth our bodies can only clench so many muscles,” she said.
And when it comes to men powerlifters? Rigden was quick to point out the hypocrisy that exists: “Men can have nose bleeds, and defecate, but a little urine is somehow bad?”
Ultimately, Rigden concludes, to all those who criticize female powerlifters over a little dribble of pee-pee: “I say get over yourself and concentrate on what needs changing in your own life.”
There was no shortage of bathroom humor and 10-year-old boy jokes from netizens
People reacted with surprise and curiosity. “Why do powerlifters pee when lifting heavy?” one person asked.
Other people inferred that it shouldn’t have happened: “Lift or pee. Or do both.”
One armchair expert had a suggestion for the champion powerlifter: “She needs to work more on her bladder control.”
Commenters online represented the breadth of the uneducated
