Women of The Olympics

Topless photos of Olympic hockey player Katharina Scholz, sailor Petra Niemann, judo competitor Romy Tarangul and canoeist Nicole Reinhardt are published on four alternative front covers of the latest German edition of the adult magazine PLAYBOY.

Nicole Reinhardt poses with only a canoe paddle to protect her modesty, while Niemann is shown tugging on a sailing rope over her head.

Scholz defended her decision to pose nude but said that she had no plans for a future in modeling.

“For me it was a good opportunity, and maybe when I look back after a few years I will be proud of it,” the 25-year-old said.

“Not everybody can go on the cover of Playboy. I did it because I am confident of my body and myself.”

She added: “It wasn’t a group decision, we haven’t seen each other. The shooting was separate. Everyone decided it for themselves.”

The four Germans are not the first Olympic athletes to strip off for extra publicity.

US Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard posed naked in Playboy last year. In 2004 during the Athens Olympics, Amy Acuff, Ineta Radevica, Zhanna Block, Mary Sauer, Haley Cope, Susan Tiedtke-Green, Fanni Juhasz, Katie Vermeulen all posed naked in PLAYBOY. More recently three British athletes including triple jumper Phillips Idowu bared all as part of an advertising campaign ahead of this year’s Games.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard, who appeared naked in Playboy magazine in 2007, is to appear naked in an advertising campaign protesting against fashion furs that will be launched at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Wednesday.

The campaign is on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which said the  U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard would attend the launch, that features photos of her naked, in front of the Water Cube swimming venue, two days before the Games open.

“Seeing animals slaughtered to be worn as fashion is awful to me, so I’m definitely against wearing fur … I’d much rather go naked than ever put a dead animal on my body,” PETA quoted Amanda Beard as saying. Past celebs to bare it all include Alicia Silverstone, Christina Applegate, Christy Turlington, Kim Basinger and Pamela Anderson.

The 26-year-old came to prominence at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when as a 14-year-old she took her teddy bear with her on to the victory podium.

She won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and, billed as one of the world’s sexiest athletes, has also appeared in Sports Illustrated and FHM magazines.

Click to see Amanda Beard naked in Playboy

So everyone is again looking for the Amanda Beard Playboy pics . Well the shoot was in the July 2007 Playboy but if you don’t have a copy you can see her in all her naked tight-bodied, high resolution glory at Playboy Online as well as every other celebrity who has ever appeared naked in Playboy and of course every playmate back to the 1950’s

Below is a video of an interview that Amanda Beard did regarding her Playboy shoot

Here’s the latest blog update from Amanda Beard…

“So it’s been some time since I last blogged, but much has happened in my life that I’d like to share. In late August I flew to Maui for the Maui Channel Swim and brought my boyfriend Sacha Brown, his brother and sister, and our scuba instructor. The trip was exactly what we all needed, a lot of r & r for the girls and a lot of adventure for the boys. Although I mostly relaxed, I did complete five dives with my instructor earning my Padi Advanced Scuba Diver certification. The Advanced Diver certification allows me to go deeper than the Open Water certification giving me access to more of the Ocean to search for my favorite fish, the Shark! Any and every shark, I admit I am a lover of all sharks! I think they are absolutely the most beautiful and efficient creatures on this planet. While they can be dangerous and must be treated with great respect always, I love being with them in their environment and watching them move with such grace and purpose. They can cover an enormous amount of ground with the littlest of effort. Now if only I could swim like that!

The only other time I left my beachside chair was to get some exercise on Sept. 1st when I joined a team of six and swam from Lanai to Maui in near perfect conditions. Our team ended up getting 4th place which was great but we have definite plans to earn 1st next year!

When I returned home from Hawaii I jumped right back into my training and on Sept. 16th I competed in the Malibu Triathlon where my team(Team Amanda Beard) and I were able to win 1st place in our category. It was a joy to see so many talented athletes gather to help raise money for The Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Along with all the athletes, a bunch of celebrities came out to show off; Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, the Bachelor, and more. Right after the triathlon I flew out to New York for the launch of my new signature bangle. I joined with Carloee Jewelry and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to create a special bracelet which sold at Bloomingdales and 100% of the proceeds went directly to the cause. The bracelet was available in gold and silver and is inscribed with a quote of my own, “Laugh ‘till you cry, Cry ‘till you laugh.” I felt like this made sense; always with laughter, no matter what the hardship. I have to say thanks much to everyone who supported this effort, Breast Cancer can and will be beaten with compassion and generosity like yours!

After New York, Red Bull flew me up to be a celebrity judge for their Soap Box Derby Race in Seattle. This was an extra special trip for me because the races were hilariously entertaining with amazing crashes and going to Seattle allowed me to spend some much needed quality time with my Mom and the rest of my Family who live there. Now I’m home and back to training hard for the Olympic Trials with a new personal trainer and spin classes with my bestest friends Keri Hehn and Lindsay “Lohan” Payne.

As a closing note I’d just like to take a quick moment to say thank you to my sponsors, my family, my friends, my agent, my publicist and everyone else that has stuck by my side and believed in me over the years, your support has helped me to push myself as an athlete and more importantly as a person. I love you all,Amanda Ray Beard

P.S. There has been a lot of positive talk in the press and blogs about me lately and to all my supporters thank you from the bottom of my heart! To those few who cannot seem to find anything nice to say I say this, never talk badly about someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes, you might just find they’ve worked harder to get where they are in life than you thought. To those who trash the way I look, please take the minimal effort it takes to look the other way, or better yet set an example and be kind. And everyone please look out for the environment and the wonderful animals that live in it, enjoy this life, this world and may you be as fortunate and prosperous as I have been. ”

Another shark lover! I knew I liked this girl for a reason. Good luck in the trials Amanda, we’re counting on you for Beijing!