Nude Olympians

evawhite on August 19th, 2008

While the Olympics are in the news for all the usual reasons: there is Michael Phelps and the huge expectation from him to break Mark Spitz’ record of the number of Olympic gold medals, then there is China’s gold rush (apparently hosting the Olympics is working well for their athletes), and then there are many headlines about how the games have made life worse and not better for the average Chinese person etc.

Some other, also very riveting headlines were made when some athletes posed for the advertising shoots of a sports drink. The photo shoot for the advert of Powerade featured three athletes engaging in their sport. This is itself is unremarkable; what is remarkable is that each one of them featured nude! Triple jumper Phillips Idowu, rower and cyclist Rebecca Romero and swimmer Gregor Tait have all been photographed taking part in their individual sports naked as the day they were born, as part of an advertising campaign for the sports drink.

“Everyone is used to seeing athletes in competition or winning, but we wanted to give people the chance to see the real make-up of an athlete and their muscle and power,” Cathryn Sleight, marketing director for Coca-Cola Great Britain, which launched the Powerade campaign is reported as having said. The triple jumper Phillips Idowu said the photo shoot was “definitely one of the more unusual shoots I’ve taken part in, but also one of the most enjoyable.”

It is all a part of the campaign called Nothing but InnerGear. The website says:
Rebecca Romero, Philips Idowu and Gregor Tait all took a rare break from their schedules and bravely agreed to be stripped of their OuterGear. Left with nothing but their InnerGear and shot taking part in their sport, the campaign shows the importance of fuelling their most valuable asset – their body.

I think the pictures are quite brilliant and a very effective advertising ploy.
Turns out these are not the first Olympians or the first time that Olympians have posed in the buff, Swimmer Amanda Beard in 2006, figure skater Katarina Witt in 1998 American high-jumper Amy Acuff and Leryn Franco, the Paraguayan javelin-thrower have all featured in Playboy, and not as writers I might add. Swimmers Dara Torres and Stephanie Rice stripped for Maxim and FHM. Amanda Beard was once again spotted posing nude for animal rights this Olympics as well.

I will be sure to bring you some more interesting headlines for the Olympics soon, so stay tuned!

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Tags: nude olympians, olympics
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