Bizarre reason why women are banned from using waterslide that has strict warning

It's not often now that women are banned from something men can do, but in one European waterpark the rules are still in place.

For some high powered waterslides, women are advised not to use them with strict waterslides and that includes Austria’s Area 47 adventure park.

Australian high diver Rhiannan Iffland, 32, has sparked concern after she posted a video to social media revealing what happened when she ignored the 'male only' warnings and tried it out.

In the clip, the four-time World Championship gold medalist ventured down the continent’s ‘fastest waterslide’ - an attraction that boasts ridiculous speeds of up to 80 km/h, according to The New York Post.

The waterslide is clearly marked as only being for men, but rather than prohibiting women as a sexist rule it's in fact done for health reasons.

According to a 1998 study, published in the National Library of Medicine, women can sustain grievous vaginal injuries if high-pressure water enters the female body.

Moreover, if these injuries are sustained, women can become increasingly susceptible to infection due to foreign bodies found in the water. There's also been previous reports of women being ‘ripped apart’ by high-speed waterslides, prompting slide bans across the globe.

As well as gynaecological issues, high-speed water can cause what’s being dubbed as ‘the waterslide enema’ in both men and women.

An enema is an injection of fluids into the rectum that’s usually used to cleanse the colon and help relieve constipation.

It's not uncommon for people who have used waterslides to experience them, as one person previously wrote on social media: “Unfortunately I got a water slide enema. Peed out half the swimming pool in the toilet from my butt. I literally couldn’t stand upright after it happened. Weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced."

Another said: "I have gone to one of those. [...] Not an enema but the other one. Deep cleaning that baby box. Never again.”

Iffland's TikTok clip of her trying out the Austrian waterslide has now gone viral, but she's made it clear to news.com.au that it was ‘never [her] intent to mock’ the slide’s safety regulations.

The diver said she never intended to 'mock' safety instructions (Instagram/@rhiannan_iffland)

“A person’s safety is paramount and I am constantly weighing up any danger with my job,” she added. “To suggest otherwise, is wrong.”

Following the clip being posted to social media, viewers have come out in their droves to debate Iffland’s daring stunt.

One Instagram user wrote: “The amount of people that don’t understand why women aren’t supposed to go on this slide is scary," as a second typed: “The sign says ‘due to high risk of injury’. Why would you still go down?”

The waterpark, Area 47, has now said that when the water park was built back in 2009, it ‘did not intend to create a men-only attraction’.

A spokesperson explained: "Initially, this particular slide was open to both women and men. However, in the second year, we noticed a significant increase in accidents on this slide, which required us to take action."

They added: "Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and happiness of all our guests, regardless of gender. The risks for women using this slide were tragically highlighted a few years ago when a woman was severely injured on a similar slide in the Canary Islands."

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