Washington: British distance runner Jo Pavey has become the latest athlete to complain that Nike, a brand which runs frequent ad campaigns based on gender equality, halted her sponsorship payments when she was pregnant.

Having faced increased scrutiny regarding its treatment of pregnant athletes, Nike is changing its policy to guarantee a pregnant athlete's pay and bonuses cannot be cut over the 18-month period covering eight months before an athlete's due date through 10 months after. Under Nike's previous policy, which had been updated in 2018, according to a spokesman, that period had lasted 12 months.