German Olympic women pose nude for Playboy

Topless photos of 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.

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 conf

ident 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, and three British athletes including triple jumper Phillips Idowu bared all as part of an advertising campaign ahead of this year’s Games.

German Olympic Playboy Nicole Reinhardt Wants Playboy Spread Wearing Only a Gold Medal

Olympic Nudes Baring All for Playboy and Beijing Gold

The latest edition of German Playboy has four Olympians in it -- nude. But, then, we would expect nothing less of Playboy magazine. And with hockey player Katharina Scholz, sailor Petra Niemann, judoka Romy Tarangul, and canoeist Nicole Reinhardt, you will not see anything less in September's issue of German Playboy.

"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 Katharina Scholz said about the spread, according to the Telegraph out of the UK. "Not everybody can go on the cover of Playboy. I did it because I am confident of my body and myself."

Nicole Reinhardt says they're "beautiful pictures," and that the next spread she does, she wants her only accessory to be a gold medal. "Not every girl or woman has a chance to come into this magazine.

The women appear on four alternate covers of the Olympic edition.

They Aren't The First To Pose For Playboy

The four German Olympic Playboy posers aren't the first Olympic athletes to pose nude for Playboy, though. Team USA's Amanda Beard, who made headlines earlier in the Games by unveiling her nude PETA poster in Beijing, posed for Playboy last year.

Back in 2004, the September issue of Playboy featured eight Olympic hopefuls for the Athens Games. Among them were Amy Acruff, a high jumper for the United States; Ineta Radevica, triple jumper from Latvia; and Katie Vermuellen, a 1500 m runner from Canada.

And Katarina Witt posed for Playboy in 1998. Of course, she posed a decade after winning her second gold medal (1988) for East Germany in Calgary, Canada.

They Won't Be The Last Olympic Athletes To Pose For Playboy

But s*x sells. And the Olympics are sexy. Athletes at the top of their game and form are sexy. Those skimpy outfits athletes wear are not just designed for less wind and water resistance; they're also designed for aesthetic effect.