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A high number of four thousand women athletes currently in Athens will return home very rich because the Games offer rewarding platforms. Many are already enjoying glory and big finances through previous successes. Others are ready to capitalize from their sporting abilities or curvy assets provided their agents and managers have played their chips right. The wizards from the international marketing industry had long targeted the potential heroes, with lavish contracts which were discussed and signed in good time.
The big stars who hit the limelight and potential victors are assured of a most comfortable lifestyle for years on end, but the choice is not restricted solely to medal-winning performers.
Stunners who failed to make it to the podium will still benefit immensely because of the blessings bestowed on them by mother nature. The gorgeous athletes who may not be the world’s best can still hit the big time. Looks buy cash.
Apart from the winners and the curvy belles, there are also a few special protagonists who are neither competitors nor aspiring models, but who deserve recognition for their brilliant achievements And this they have already done. They will not be reimbursed by monetary gifts or a crown. These are the ones that actually made Athens 2004 happen.
Gianna and Dora
Pride of place goes to Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a 49 year-old lawyer with studios in London and New York, married to one of the richest shipping magnates and mother of his three children. The chairman of the organizing committee who is a former MP, ensured that the world knows of ‘the modern Greece.’ ‘Kyria,’ as she is affectionately known won the bid eight years previously and ensured that the infrastructure and all the preparations needed for such a big sport manifestation are perfect for each event. Her smile, smart appearance, dedication and management skills made her synonymous with the success of the XXVIII edition.
Over the last eighteen months, Gianna, was helped in no small measure by the mayor of Athens, Dora Bakojannis who transformed the city in a most impressive manner. Daughter of the former PM, Constantine Mitsotakis, Dora had spent seven years in exile during the time when the Colonels ruled the country and when she returned home, her husband was murdered by a terrorist. As the real host of the Games, Dora Bakojannis does not seek any glamour, but has been instrumental in providing the best security, arrangements and comfort for all delegations and visitors besides giving her native citizens a better capital.
It was generally assumed that Athens would host the 1996 Olympics. After all, it was the hundredth anniversary of the Modern Games. But somehow it was not to be, as the world famous actress Melina Mercouri said after the voting decision by the members of the International Olympic Committee - ‘Coca Cola wins over Acropolis.’ A better phrase would have been ‘culture second to money’ while the average person reached a different conclusion with suspicions and doubts about corruption, something which became evident when Salt Lake City was chosen for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The Greeks were more determined than ever to prove themselves. The success of Athens 2004 is a condemnation for those who had deserted them when they were most needed. The organisational powers highlighted by a most impressive opening ceremony proved that even the poor mortals from the Mediterranean region have something to offer to the world.
It is a pity that the Greeks’ most favourite female sprinter Ekaterini Thanou, who was tipped for gold, shared the drama with the disgraced idol Kostantinos Kanteris and earned front-page headlines for the wrong reasons after four glorified and money-spinning years which followed her brilliant silver medal in Sydney, when she was only second to Marion Jones. Thanou lost her pride, glory, adoration and lots of cash.
She is one of the main losers of the Athens edition.
Stunning
They call them ‘The Games of Peace.’ Others, especially those gorgeous girls who manage to hit the limelight because of their curves and ambitions, may give the Olympic Games of Athens a vastly different name.
The Queen of Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova did not go to Athens, but other stunners hope to hit gold, even if they fail to win a medal. Today’s women sport is replete with good lookers. The list seems never ending. Gone are the days when aesthetic qualities were hardly evident among top women athletes.
It is the fourth games for the Berlin-born smasher Franziska Van Almsick who twelve years ago had raised a few eyebrows in Barcelona, when she was only 14 and when tattoos were somewhat rare for female swimmers! Her timings in the pool were noted and applauded, as she won two silver medals and two bronze then, but the shoulder drawings perhaps added even more attention! She became an idol, and a very rich girl. There were thousands who had wished her better timings in Athens earlier this week, but she only managed to add a bronze to her tally of eight medals, but no gold. She was a nymph with great looks in Barcelona, but she was in a different class in the Greek capital.
Women tend to show their best assets
It is the same story in everyday life. Most women would agree that they like to show off their best assets to achieve their targets. In the last two or three decades more women are practising sport and it is not surprising to note that there are a few glamour girls among the top performers too. Many of the current participants may not make it to the presentation platform, but that failure does not stop them from making it to glossy magazines’ covers and catwalks because of their other qualities. Many have become celebrities, models, television stars and have hit a goldmine through a number of slots, thanks to their looks and measurements.
Their curves, looks, smile, and aesthetic form, sell and may gain impressive returns in the Anna Kournikova mould and others before her.
Just before the Sydney Games, Amy Taylor a gorgeous footballer posed naked for an adult publication. Critics remarked that she did it as an answer to the German volleyball team that had stripped for ‘Stern.’ The truth is that Amy wanted to hit the limelight with the common action filmed on the field of play during training or competitive matches. That photo session paved her way to riches. She soon became a nude-calendar girl, model and media personality.
“The body is beautiful and mine is particularly so and I do not mind showing it,” stated the US basketball bombshell Lisa Leslie, 32,who eight years ago signed a contract with Wilhemina Models, one of the top casting agencies and has since earned fame and fortune, because of her talent and body.
She has been voted as the best basketball player in the world and has also appeared on Vogue’s cover, but she also has a Masters in Economics, two gold medals, and everything going for her. She thinks that sport helps to make women more beautiful and though she is regarded as an expert in the art of seduction she also finds time to promote an honourable campaign against breast cancer.
Glamorous
Athens 2004 attracted more than a few pin-ups, like Californian blonde softball star Jenny Finch, 23 who does not pride herself solely for her beautiful face. She dreams of Hollywood, but has already made it big and not solely because she has been twice voted as the ‘sexiest athlete of the year’ in the United States. She was signed by eight companies before she arrived in Athens. Whether it is the Bank of America or the ‘24 hours fitness tv,’ they are all lined up to shower six-figure contracts.
There are others who are still hitting the limelight like the Italian volleyball ace Francesca Piccinini, 25, who has already shown her curves in various adult publications. Then there is a classical beauty Camilla Martin, 30, who incidentally plays badminton. She competes well with Yugoslav Jelena Dokic who is wearing the Australian colours, Jenny Adams, Anastaslya Myskina, 23, and the Slovak Daniela Hantuchova who are regarded as the glamour ladies of the tennis courts.
Another Diva
Beautiful girls are found in every contingent and in all disciplines. One of the most attractive athletes is undoubtedly the 29-year old, Amy Acuff, a high jumper and a successful model who posed provocatively in a number of magazines and who will be Playboy’s covergirl next month. Like the top US athletes, Amy was based in Crete since August 9, for a training camp away from the hustle and bustle of Athens. Once she arrives for competition the flashlights start working. Another diva is the Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn who will be 31 on Tuesday. She is the ‘queen of the Netherlands,’ and a world-class swimmer, like Jodie Henry of Australia, Nathalie Coughlin, Hayley Cope and Amanda Beard, 24, of the US who not only grace the pools but the glamour scene. For most, the length of their bank accounts stretch much longer than their height.
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