Witchery White Shirt: Female athletes are seen as the model of health but Olympian Morgan Mitchell knows the scary truth | Exclusive

At just 30 years old, Morgan Mitchell has already been to the Olympics three times.

None of those trips can hold a flame to the physical and emotional rollercoaster she’s been on since falling pregnant with twins.

Mitchell announced she was expecting two daughters with husband Tommy Brown in November 2024 and she’s been holding on for the ride ever since.

“Pregnancy has been the craziest journey I’ve ever been on,” she tells 9honey, which is saying something.

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Mitchell took up athletics at age six and made her Olympic debut in Rio when she was 22, then represented Australia again at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Striving to break her own records, she pushed her body to the limit every time and in doing so risked a common and concerning side-effect for athletes assigned female at birth: irregular or missed menstrual cycles.

A 2023 study found more than one in three female athletes have ignored missed periods because they believe it’s “normal” given their activity level.

That should come as no surprise, given 30 per cent had also been told by a medical professional that irregular periods were “normal” in such circumstances.

“Elite female athletes are usually shut down or dismissed when they try to raise the issue,” Mitchell says.

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Even now, there’s a lingering culture of silence around women’s health among elite athletes and it puts them at risk of missing the signs of potentially deadly reproductive conditions – like ovarian cancer, which kills one Australian woman every eight hours.

Symptoms are vague and can include abdominal pain, bloating, and abnormal vaginal bleeding, which could easily be mistaken for menstrual symptoms in women already experiencing irregular cycles.

With no early detection test, about 70 per cent of cases aren’t caught until the disease is in the advanced stages, at which point the five-year survival rate is just 29 per cent.

Mitchell has known the risks since 2020, when she first took part in the Witchery White Shirt campaign with the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF), and has been warning other women ever since.

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While she’s vigilant about her reproductive health, the Olympian admits she still slips into old habits of putting training over her wellbeing sometimes.

“As athletes we are always wanting more and get major ‘FOMO’ if we miss a week or two of training. You really can spiral,” she says.

“I was in and out of hospital in 2023 for a lymph node issue and I was trying to run and lift weights in the gym even whilst going through recovery.”

That landed her back in hospital and her doctor had to put their foot down, demanding Mitchell just chill out for once.

It was good advice, especially when she fell pregnant a year later.

She spent the first trimester learning to listen to her changing body, slow down and just enjoy the journey to motherhood.

“The human body is incredible and I think I’ve learnt more about myself pregnant than as an athlete,” Mitchell says.

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The world isn’t always kind to girls and women so she’s determined to raise her twin girls in a safe environment where they know they can always be open with her, even when the topic is awkward or a bit taboo – like women’s health was for centuries.

“I will encourage them to express their feelings regarding puberty, girlhood and womanhood and to never shy away from it,” she says.

Because too often, the women and girls who suffer in silence don’t get the help they need until it’s too late.

“I wish I was more informed on what can happen to girls going through puberty and their body in general as they transition from teenagers to women,” Mitchell muses, adding that it might have saved her from struggling with body dysmorphia in her youth.

“Starting these conversations from an early age is important so that they are aware of all the ins and outs about women’s health; the good, the bad and the ugly.”

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Women and girls are more outspoken about their health now but starting conversations is just one part of the solution, especially when it comes to something as deadly as ovarian cancer.

That’s why Mitchell is front and centre again for the Witchery White Shirt campaign this year, advocating and fundraising in the hopes that by the time her daughters hit 30, there will be an early detection test, better treatment options, and maybe even a cure.

Witchery will donate 100 per cent of gross proceeds from every White Shirt and White Jean sold to the OCRF to support ovarian cancer research. Learn more and shop online or in-store.

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