While
the sporting world is typically dominated by male athletes, there have
been many female athletes throughout history that have proved that
playing sports does not mean that you have to be manly, or that the
sporting industry stops female athletes from acknowledging their
feminine side outside of their profession.
There has been a long
history of women that have not only taken their professions by storm,
but proved to the world that they can have the best of both worlds as an
everyday woman with extraordinary bodies by posing partially, or
completely unclothed for men’s magazines, including Playboy. Over the
years, Playboy has made it easy for female athletes to show off their
less aggressive side, by taking women from around the globe from their
sports and given them a laid-back, fun and sexy shoot to embrace the
wondrous image that is the female body. Female athletes have become
endless stories of unique role models and fascinating obsessions, all of
which are mainly based around their diversity; how they can be tough,
strong and athletic, yet sustain a soft, feminine and beautiful side to
them.
While some have focused solely on their profession to prove
what they’re worth, others have taken a more risqué decision by showing
off their fun and sexy side and becoming a playmate. In many instances,
these decisions have actually boosted female athlete’s confidence and
empowered them, as well as proving that they’re are much more than just
their sporting professions. Many of these successful and inspiring
athletes have rather appeared in Playboy magazine’s before their
athletic careers or after their competitions had been completed- mostly
in an effort to avoid controversy.
Whether it has been for
publicity, woman empowerment or athletic inspirations, here are the top
15 female athletes that have posed for Playboy.
15. Amy Acuff
via devids.net
Track
and field’s Amy Lyn Acuff, along with competing for the United States
in five Olympic Games in 1996, 2000, 200, 2008 and 2012, posed nude for
Playboy in 2004, the same year that she placed fourth in her division at
the Summer Olympic Games. Acuff appeared in the issue alongside many
other highly successful athletes, which was heavily noted for its high
inclusion of female Olympians for Playboy’s special edition issue of the
magazine, “Women of the Olympics”. The issue included a twelve page
spread of many female athletes, whilst Acuff was honored on the occasion
to grace the cover.
14. Rena Mariette Lesnar
Better
known as Sable to the wrestling world, Rena began her WWE career way
back in 1996 and is considered to be one of the most popular Divas of
all time, even to this day. Though she began strictly as a valet, she
then began to perform in the ring, even winning the WWE Women’s
Championshi when she defeated Jacqueline for the belt. She has since
retired from in-ring action, but is married to one of the biggest stars
in wrestling, Brock Lesnar. In terms of Playboy, she’s been on the cover
on three occasions, twice by herself and one alongside another WWE Diva
in Torrie Wilson. Her first appearance in a Playboy magazine, back in
1999, was one of the highest selling issues of all time.
13. LaTasha Marzolla
via corrieredellosport.it
Although
many could argue that LaTasha Marzolla is known for being a Playboy
Vixen before an MMA fighter, Marzolla has proven to be extremely capable
of being both an impressive fighter and an irresistible Playboy model.
Since first appearing in 2002’s Playboy Voluptuous Vixens, Marzolla has
been on the covers of many Playboy magazines and is a prime example of a
healthy model image. Considering the kick-boxer is a model first and
athlete second, she has not only graced the covers of the sexiest
magazine in the world, but set an example for fellow models wanting to
break away.
12. Nicole Reinhardt
At
the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Nicole Reinhardt has won six
Gold Medals, as well as a Gold Medal at the Summer Olympics in 2008 in
Beijing. Reinhardt was seen as one of the most attractive females of the
Olympic team, which naturally caught the eye of Playboy. With
that said, after Playboy asked her to appear in the issue, the Champion
kayaker agreed to pose nude for the German edition of Playboy magazine.
11. Anita Marks
via russellstreetreport.com
Anita
Marks was renowned for her five years as a professional footballer,
where she was a force to be reckoned as a quarterback for two women’s
professional football teams (the Florida Stingrays and Miami Fury).
However, in 2002, the world saw the footballer in a different light,
when she agreed to pose in a centerfold shoot for Playboy magazine. Upon
the acceptance of posing in the nude, Marks insisted that her reasoning
for the piece was to prove that“some of the women who play in the
league may be appealing to those who read Playboy,” and to argue that it
is acceptable to be attractive, sensual and play professional football.
10. Gabrielle Reece
Due
to her success as a professional beach volleyball player and well known
fitness guru, Gabrielle Reece appeared on the cover of Playboy, where
she was able to embrace her athletic, yet feminine body. Apart from her
athletic background, the professional volleyball player made an
appearance in Elle Magazine, where she was named one of the top five
most beautiful women in the world in 1989. In 2001, Reece posed
completely nude for Playboy, to prove that athleticism does not take
away the beauty in the female body.
9. Pasha Grishuk
Two-time
Olympic Gold medalist at the Olympic Games in 1994 and 1998 for her
admirable skills in ice dancing, Pasha Grishuk posed for Playboy just
after her first year as a gold medal Olympian. Grishuk, along with her
partner, Evgeni Platov, is a three-time European champion and four-time
World champion in her athletic profession. Her Playboy appearance was
shot for a Russian issue of the magazine, where she was not afraid to
bare every inch of her body to embrace her feminine side. In the shoot,
Grishuk also brought along a pair of ice-skates.
8. Joanie Laurer
Joanie
Laurer is famous for her time in the wrestling world, where she spent
her career known as Chyna and was declared by WWE as the Ninth Wonder of
the World. Laurer was a force to be reckoned in her athletic profession
as a pro-wrestler because she was willing to take on the men, as well
as the women, in the ring. Although Laurer is commonly noticed for her
tough, muscular build, she was offered to make an appearance in Playboy
two times in 2000 and 2002, where she proved to the world that although
she’s incredibly strong, the pro-wrestler could pull off a sexy,
feminine shoot.
7. Torrie Wilson
Another professional
wrestler and female athlete extraordinaire, Torrie Wilson has posed
for Playboy twice. Wilson’s athletic career began as a fitness model,
where she had won the Ms. Galaxy Championship in 1998 before becoming a
professional wrestler; therefore her body was noticeably fit and
naturally sexy. In her first appearance on the Playboy cover in 2003,
Wilson posed alone and showed off her feminine curves. However, her
second Playboy cover was an even greater joy for wrestlers fans, as she
posed with fellow wrestler, Sable, in the special Playboy edition of
March 2004.
6. Katarina Witt
Katarina
Witt is considered as one of the greatest figure skaters in history.
Before posing for Playboy at the age of 33, Katarina Witt became a
six-time European Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and four-time
World Champion for figure skating. The German figure skater suggested
that her decision to pose nude for the Playboy magazine was to change
the idea of female figure skaters being cute and princess-like. Her
cover shoots were noticeably popular, as the athlete’s nude pictorial in
the Playboy issue became the second ever to be completely sold-out.
5. Maria Kanellis
via arnyfreytagstudios.com
Maria
Kanellis debuted in the WWE in 2004 after finishing fifth in the Raw
Diva Search. By 2005, despite her low finish, Maria was already being
viewed as a successful professional wrestler in the WWE. Her sexy
persona caught the attention of both the audience, along with the keen
eye of Playboy Magazine. Maria posed for Playboy in 2008, receiving the
cover and showing her already beloved athletic body to the eyes of
people all over the world.
4. Kiana Tom
Known
as one of the most notable female fitness personalities in the world of
sports, along with being a force in her athletic professions, Kiana Tom
agreed to pose for Playboy in May of 2002. Despite appearing in several
of her own workout series and having a body that most women envied more
than anything, Kiana Tom was initially hesitant to appear in the
Playboy issue, supposedly because she did not feel as if her body was
one-hundred percent ready.
3. Amanda Beard
via businessinsider.com.au
At
the age of 14, Olympic Gold medal swimmer, Amanda Beard broke two world
records in the 200 meter backstroke and became the second youngest
swimmer to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Along with competing at the
Olympics on four separate occasions, where Beard won at total of seven
medals, the successful Olympian posed for an issue of Playboy. This
caused plenty of controversy, despite her intentions of changing the
stereotypical view of women by displaying the meaning of feminine power
for not only fellow female athletes, but women around the world.
2. Ashley Harkleroad
After
Ashley Harkleroad made it onto the WTA tour, she also became the first
ever professional tennis player to pose for the Playboy magazine in an
August issue in 2008. The athlete’s highest ranking of her career was
No. 39 in 2003 and unfortunately she never won any renowned
international tennis tournaments. Nonetheless, the tennis professional
announced the decision to pose for the magazine after playing in the
2008 French Open and admitted in an interview that her decision to pose
for Playboy was based on the inspiration of fellow athlete, Amanda
Beard, who had also posed for Playboy before.
1. Mia St. John
Not
only is Mia St. John an impeccably skilled boxer and highly trained in
Taekwondo, she also used her athletic background to portray herself on a
sexy, eleven page spread in Playboy magazine. Her boxing themed
pictorial was released on November, 1999. She wanted to use a boxing
theme to remind her beloved viewers that despite her ability to be
laid-back and alluring, she was an athlete first. Throughout her career,
St. John wont numerous accolades, including the WBC International
Female Welterweight Champion at the age of 40.
