Women of The Olympics

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