What happened to world champion diver who ignored 'no women' sign on extreme water slide
One minute you're renowned across the world for your diving skills, the next, you've gone viral for rebuffing safety regulations on an extreme water slide.
That's what happened to Australian athlete Rhiannan Iffland, anyway, as footage of her 'YOLO moment' at the Area 47 adventure park in Austria spread like wildfire across social media.
Back in June last year, the seven-time world champion cliff diver was visiting the attraction with a pal when they fancied having a go on one of Europe's fastest waterslides.
The only thing is, there was a sign on the entrance which stated: "Due to high risk of injury, women are not allowed to use this slide!"
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Iffland, 33, was seen acknowledging the warning and even turned to her friend who was filming the moment to reiterate that 'women aren't supposed to use this'.
Still, she ignored it - and the high diver decided to have a go of the waterslide which boasts speeds of up to 80 km/h and is apparently only suitable for men to use.
Iffland caused quite a stir online after she uploaded the footage to her Instagram alongside the caption: "Here for a good time not a long time! Another YOLO moment."
Carpe diem and all of that...but it turns out there's a very good reason for women being prohibited from riding the waterslide, which social media users quickly pointed out to Iffland.
Why can't women use the Area 47 waterslide?
Although a lot of ladies love whizzing down waterslides just as much as the next bloke, some of them just aren't safe for women to use.
A host of people informed Iffland of this in the comment section of her post, although some admitted they were also baffled by the rule.
"Well, she want to be a daredevil so she had to live with the consequences if she got hurt," one disgruntled follower said, while another wrote: "You're supposed to be a role model. Rules have a purpose! It protects against massive vaginal injuries. It would be better to explain the reason for the ban instead of ignoring the sign!"
In recent years, there have been reports of women having their insides 'ripped apart' by high-speed water slides.
According to the National Library of Medicine in the US, women can sustain horrific injuries if high pressured water enters their body, and there is also a risk of infections due to the foreign bodies found in the water.
What kind of injuries can women sustain from waterslides?
As we've established, Iffland ran the risk of inflicting horrific internal injuries upon herself by brushing off the warning sign on the waterslide.
She escaped unscathed, thankfully - but other women haven't been as lucky, such as mother-of-two Monu Bhagat, who suffered an 8cm internal tear on a similar contraption.
The Brit tourist was on holiday in Benidorm, Spain, with her family in August 2019 when they visited the Aqualandia water park, and she headed down a slide similar to the one at Area 47, following all the safety rules as instructed.
"I was told to cross my arms and legs and there were safety signs at the top of the slide,” Monu told The Sun. "I’ve been on these types of slides before so I knew what I was doing.
"As I went down I felt a tight pull and to start with I thought I had a wedgie, but as I got out of the pool blood started pouring down my legs."
She explained she was left in 'unbearable' pain and 'couldn't stop crying', before she was rushed into surgery where she received stitches for an 8cm internal tear.
Sharing a warning to other women, Monu added: "Women and girls need to know what they are getting themselves into, it could have easily have happened to my daughter.
"It could have been worse - if the cut had been bigger, my uterus could have fallen out.
"I'm older and have had children but if it happens to someone younger it could completely ruin their life or chance to have children. They really need to know - why waste your life for a few seconds of fun?"
What did Iffland say about the backlash?
Given her profession, a lot of people were a bit taken aback by Iffland supposedly flouting the rules - which are obviously there for a reason.
After her video went viral, the Aussie addressed the backlash she was receiving on social media and insisted she had the upmost respect to health and safety regulations.
"It was never my intent to mock the safety regulations of this water slide," she told news.com.au at the time. "A person’s safety is paramount and I am constantly weighing up any danger with my job.
"To suggest otherwise, is wrong."
While also sharing the footage of her on the slide to TikTok, Iffland clarified in the caption of the post that she had been down it 'just once' - so hopefully, that was her first and last time.
What did the waterpark say?
In wake of the viral controversy, Area 47 adventure park told LADbible Group that the slide in question had originally been open for both men and women to use.
However, safety guidelines regarding this slide had later been updated after a 'a significant increase in accidents' on the contraption.
"This led to a difficult decision: either disassemble the water slide or restrict its use to men only, as it stands now," a spokesperson explained.
"Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and happiness of all our guests, regardless of gender."
What is Iffland doing now?
Although she might think twice before heading down a waterslide these days, you can't keep Iffland away from water completely.
The 33-year-old is still killing it in the cliff-diving world, having just bagged a gold medal during the opening round of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in El Nido, Philippines, earlier this year.
It's her 42nd World Series win and 50th career podium, so Iffland is certainly doing her team proud.
According to her Instagram bio, the athlete is 'seeing the world from dizzying heights', so let's just hope she's paying attention to the warning signs up there, if there are any.
Topics: Health, World News, Viral, Theme Park
Olivia Burke