Olympian Molly Seidel got her own training methods mansplained to her by a man

Before competing in the women's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics last month, 27-year-old Molly Seidel had only ever run two marathons in her life. Yet, she returned home with a bronze medal to her name and an unshakeable reputation as a force to be reckoned with. But becoming the third American woman to get a medal in the grueling 26.2-mile Olympic race apparently wasn't enough to spare Seidel an in-flight mansplaining session. The Olympian recently took to Twitter to share the story of how a man on her flight had mansplained her own running training to her as soon as he found out she runs.

In the now-viral tweet, Seidel explained how while talking to the man seated beside her on the flight, the subject of running had come up. "On my flight was talking to a guy next to me & it came up that I run. He starts telling me how I need to train high mileage [and] pulls up an analysis he'd made of a pro runner's training on his phone. The pro runner was me. It was my training. Didn't have the heart to tell him," the athlete tweeted.

According to the official Olympics website, Seidel's victory in Sapporo came as a surprise to many. "When the marathon started on 7 August in Sapporo, Seidel was not expected to be among the fastest finishers. Among the athletes on the start line were the Kenyan duo, current marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei and two-time world half-marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, as well as numerous runners with faster PBs and more impressive marathon resumes. Astonishingly - miraculously some would say - Seidel stormed to a bronze medal in 2:27:46 - only 20 seconds behind the winner, Jepchirchir," it states.

Seidel herself was acutely aware of this fact. "I wanted to go and be that person who, when you're racing, they're all saying, 'Who the hell is this girl?'" Seidel said after the race, reports NPR. "I just wanted to stick my nose in where it didn't belong and get after it. The Olympics only happens every four years, you might as well take your shot. I did get a bit overcome and start crying a little bit. This is the day you dream of your entire life. This is what it means to be an athlete." Pulling off an upset has since put Seidel — and her training methods — in the spotlight.

This could explain why her co-passenger was studying her training schedule without bothering to learn more about the athlete. While some on Twitter argued that he may not have recognized Seidel with a mask, others pointed out that his jumping to explain her sport to her without getting to know her first is mansplaining at its finest. "I hope as you deplaned, that you said, 'I didn't get your name?' And when he answered, that you said, 'It was so nice chatting with you, _____. My name's Molly. Molly Seidel.' Then gave him a brilliant smile, turned around, and walked away," tweeted @perrybarber.

"Guys, this is mansplaining. If it wasn't he would've ASKED HER about her running and within minutes found out who she was. Instead, he immediately talked AT her and told her what she should do," pointed out @heathermirmn. "Consider how few questions this person must have asked of Molly in order to NOT find out that she was Molly," wrote Olympian Clare Egan. "

Meanwhile, some Twitter users also shared their personal experiences with mansplainers. "Someone once asked me how long I'd been at university. I think I replied something like '8 years.' He looked at me and said, 'Keep trying and eventually you'll pass," tweeted Dr. Gail Barnes.