Self-doubt in female athletes tends to stem from stereotypes perpetuated from a young age, Grillo explained.

“We’ve all heard the phrases you run like a girl, or you shouldn’t be doing sports, you should be in the kitchen,” she exemplified.

These misconceptions and prejudices stick with young girls and transfer through to adulthood, developing into a lack of confidence and heightened self-doubt, she explained.

“Women are constantly questioning whether they’re capable and always feeling the need to prove themselves.”

Pushing these stereotypes is the way the media covers women in sports. There’s still a discrepancy in the questions males are asked as opposed to females as well as the language used to describe them.

“Males have a ‘strong performance’ while commentary on women is centred on her image: ‘wow what a beautiful athlete’,” Grillo pointed out.

Another major struggle is body image: “Even without realising, we’re always comparing ourselves.”

Grillo pointed out the discrepancy between the strength an athlete needs and the way women are expected or feel they should look.

“I’m very muscular which is great for my sport. But there have been times when I’d wear a dress and I’d get comments because my muscles are big,” Grillo shared.

The pressure to be lean further perpetuates a culture of eating disorders that a lot of females in sports face, she continued.

Grillo has been an athlete since she was seven years old. Before pole vaulting came athletics and before athletics she was a gymnast, even as a young gymnast she was scrutinised for the effects of her sport.

“Once someone touched my hands, felt the callouses from gymnastics and said ‘‘jaq, what’s that?'”

The third struggle that is unique to women in sports is rooted in the lack of education when it comes to the different capabilities and needs of a woman’s body according to her menstruation cycle.

There is no consideration of what stage a woman is at in her cycle and all athletes have had to perform despite major changes ongoing in their bodies.

“No one knows that you’re meant to plan your training based on your cycle. You never hear it.”

Somehow, this issue remains taboo in the sports world. Grillo admitted she’s never heard a coach discuss the importance of synchronising training with the menstrual cycle. To make matters worse, most coaches in her sport are men, pushing the issue even further under the radar.

Grillo spoke at a panel discussion entitled Her Voice in Science alongside astronomy PhD student Stephanie Buttigieg and biomedical scientist and PhD student Christine Gatt, gynaecologist specialising in women’s reproductive health Maria Petra Agius, educator Annemarie Grech, member of the European Parliament Miriam Lexmann and policy officer at the European Commission Senem Sanal-Erginel.

During her intervention, Grillo explained that there’s a lack of awareness in general when it comes to sports psychology, having learned that herself the hard way. She recounted a difficult moment during a competitions at just 13 years old when she was confused and found very little emotional support, “I remember spending an hour crying in the bathroom”.

However, exposing, fighting and overcoming these issues within the sports world both faced by women and men is a part of Grillo’s ambition through her social media which you can follow here.

Have you ever faced similar struggles?