Torah Bright
» Posted 2006-Feb-24 · Link
Reasonable people could argue that the hottest Olympians can be found in the sport of figure skating. But reason goes right out the window when it comes to the sport of snowboarding. Its competitors make figure skaters look like a day at Westminster. Maybe it's because we still hold fond memories of that cute girl who smiled at us on the sledding hill back in the day, but snowboarders make us shiver in our snow suits.
Apparently, we're not alone. Many of you have written in to tell us of your fond admiration for (or, in the case of one of you, your borderline psychotic reaction to) Australian snowboarder Torah Bright.
Sounding very much like an adorable font, Torah placed 5th in the women's halfpipe in Turin this year. She says if she wasn't a snowboarder, she'd like to be a rally car driver. We're glad she isn't as it would be a shame to keep those blond good looks hidden under a hat, goggles, and logos for erectile dysfunction aids.
Torah lives and trains in Salt Lake City and she's a committed Mormon, which makes her the hottest member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since uh... that one girl from MTV's The Real World.
Sasha Cohen
» Posted 2006-Feb-22 · Link
Ah, Sasha Cohen.
Sasha reminds us of an August afternoon we spent playing Nintendo at our friend Dave's house, when an intense game of Metroid was interrupted by the return of Dave's sister, who had spent all summer at camp. As we watched her disappear into her bedroom, we turned to Dave and said six words that no man should say to another man: "Dude, your sister's kind of hot."
Sasha Cohen is that kind of hot. The kind of hot that should remain unspoken. The kind of hot that, when acknowledged, gets you hit in the face with a Nintendo controller.
Still. Damn.
The 22-year old won the short program yesterday and in doing so, edged out Irina Slutskaya* by 0.03 points. The gold medal winner will be decided Thursday during the ladies' free skate.
Meanwhile, we're going to keep trying to convince our significant other to do that thing where she pulls her leg up parallel to her body. That's a neat trick.
* We know, we know. But some jokes are just too easy.
Tanith Belbin
» Posted 2006-Feb-17 · Link
We're getting a lot of e-mails about your favorite athletes. It's comforting to know that you're as interested in hotness...er, Olympians prowess as we are. And if we had a nickel for every e-mail we've received about Tanith Belbin, we'd be one rich website.
Tanith, a native of Canada, and her partner Ben Agosto begin their first event today, the compulsory dance (we always though compulsory dance was something the teachers made us do at junior high school mixers). Their routines this year feature salsa and cha cha music, which make for some sexy moves out on the ice.
Her bio on the NBC Olympics site goes into a convoluted explanation of how Tanith acquired citizenship in the U.S. in order to compete in this year's games. Something about an appropriations bill. Whatever. We're just pleased to see the U.S. government taking steps to ensure the presence of hotties on the U.S. Olympians team.
Hear Hot Athletes on Sirius/Maxim Radio
» Posted 2006-Feb-16 · Link
We'll be on Maxim Radio again this afternoon at 3:30pm ET talking with Bower and the gang about all the hot action coming from Torino. Tune in.
Kati Wilhelm
» Posted 2006-Feb-16 · Link
When someone told us that German Kati Wilhelm was a "biathlete" we thought "Damn, that's totally hot." Then we discovered that "biathlete" doesn't mean what we thought it meant.
Still, it's hard to argue against the hotness of a woman with a gun. With her blazing red hair and killer smile, Wilhelm has us begging to surrender. In 2002, she won the gold in the sprint and the relay and brought home the silver in the pursuit. Though she missed the podium in the sprint this year, she's scheduled for the pursuit this weekend.
The pictures on her official site show she looks good in just about anything, but our favorite picture of hers is this one where she looks like she's about to start kicking ass, Alias-style.
Cassie and Jamie Johnson
» Posted 2006-Feb-15 · Link
Back in high school, science class always left us feeling bored (although Anatomy managed to hold our attention). But after seeing pictures of U.S. Olympians curlers Cassie and Jamie Johnson, we've suddenly developed a huge interest in genetics.
The sisters hail from the "hotbed of curling" that is Bemidji, Minneosta. Cassie holds the crucial skip position while her older sister Jamie is vice-skip. They began curling together back in grade school while you were still trying to master kickball. Their sisterly bond will no doubt help them in a sport that requires a team effort to win. Something the Americans are hoping to do against Denmark today.
Clearly there's something in the water in the land of Paul Bunyan. But the Johnson sisters' wholesome good looks are tempering our libidinous nature. Getting it on with two sisters has always been a fantasy of ours, so why is it that looking at Cassie and Jamie just makes us want to put on flannel, bake cookies, and talk about our feelings? What's up with that?
Women of the Luge
» Posted 2006-Feb-14 · Link
Ever since we saw Samantha Retrosi's crash yesterday, the luge has been on our mind (which is a change of pace since normally the Nuge is on our minds since we've always got cat scratch fever).
While U.S. luger Courtney Zablocki is a fine World Cup competitor and definitely has a cuteness thing going on, one need look no further than the country of Germany to find women that truly dominate in the luge. Speaking of German lugers we'd like to be dominated by, have you met Sylke and Silke? The homonym-ally named Germans may look rough-and-tumble flying down the ice-covered luge runs but they "clean up good" as your grandmother might say. Mses. Otto and Kraushaar can be seen in some fine evening wear here (and below).
Of course the hottest luger at Torino is Canadian Regan Lauscher. Reader Tom Baker e-mailed us to say she's the "hottest female athlete at the games." The judges here at Hot Athletes are still tallying up their final scores in that event, but you can read some of Regan's Olympians diary entries here.
Gretchen Bleiler
» Posted 2006-Feb-13 · Link
In Torino, it's not hotness that matters--it's skill. Of course, the U.S. Snowboarding team has both in spades thanks to Gretchen Bleiler.
Gretchen was the first Olympian to appear on our site this year and she just took home the silver in the women's halfpipe finals. The Toledo, Ohio native is appearing in her first Olympianss.
But just as important to us was her appearance in swimwear in a 2004 issue of FHM.
Allison Baver
» Posted 2006-Feb-12 · Link
Rare is the woman who knows her way around an ice rink and a hardware store. But Olympians skater Allison Baver is just as good at handling power tools as she is the short track.
This is Baver's first year competing in the Olympianss. A former inline skater, she switched to the short track in 2000.
Originally from Pennsylvania, she trains in Colorado Springs. To earn money for the trip to Torino, Baver worked at her local Home Depot as part of their Olympians Job Opportunities Program. Not only is she handy with a power drill, but she also enjoys cheerleading.
If we find out she also works as a French maid, we might have trouble controlling ourselves.
Unfortunately for us, she's taken. She's dating fellow speed skater and owner of questionable facial hair, Apolo Anton Ohno. Speaking of guys with questionable hair, Baver's also up for a spot on Season 6 of The Apprentice with Donald Trump. Click here to vote for her.
Kari Traa
» Posted 2006-Feb-11 · Link
Pardon the cliche, but it's literally all downhill from here for Norway's Kari Traa.
Torino will be Traa's last Olympianss appearance but at 32, she's got little left to prove. After winning the gold at Salt Lake City in 2002, she created her own clothing line. She's spent the last few years building her brand and continuing to dominate as a moguls skier in the World Cup. Though plagued by knee problems, she will likely do well in today's competition before retiring to a quiet life of competitive skydiving. No, we are not making that up.
Like the sun rising in the east or our Uncle Ray showing up for funerals with whiskey on his breath, hot blondes from Norway are a given. But even in a crowded field of Nordic beauty, Kari Traa is ridiculously attractive. Little surprise then that she models her own clothes. Lucky for us, she's also appeared without them as well.
UPDATE: Congrats to Kari, who took home the silver medal in the women's Olympians moguls.
Hot Athletes on Sirius
» Posted 2006-Feb-10 · Link
Hot Athletes will be discussing tonight's opening ceremonies shortly after 2pm ET on the Maxim Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel 108). Tune in to hear us talk Hot Olympian action.
Anni Friesinger
» Posted 2006-Feb-10 · Link
Ever since that whole nasty business fifty years ago, Germany has been good to the rest of the world. It's given us fine automobiles and good beer. Germany has also led the world in the production of hot-but-scary women. And this year's Olympianss features one of their finest imports: speed skater Anni Friesinger.
Friesinger is no Ilsa-come-lately though. She skated to the gold in 2002 and took home the bronze in Nagano in 1988. Last year she won all four women's events in the World Cup for the world allaround crown.
While all that makes for a good story, Anna Kournikova taught us that a little sex is what gets sports writers spilling their ink. German media outlets dubbed her "Sexy Anni" after she posed nude and appeared in underwear ads. Plus, there's that tummy tattoo. She also released an autobiography in 2004 titled "My Life, My Sport, My Best Fitness Tips." It's reportedly got some naughty bits in it, but it's all in German so we'll just have to use our imaginations.
We're hesitant to say anything else about her because her massive arms could crush us like twigs. Like we said: hot, but scary. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Tina Maze
» Posted 2006-Feb-09 · Link
We hesitated in making Tina Maze our Hot Olympian so early in the Games (we have to save some hotties for the rest of the event) but we couldn't help but be turned on by this fine skiier from Slovenia. Eastern European girls rank among the hottest in the world, especially if, like Tina, they shave their pits. She doesn't seem to be a contender for the Gold, but frankly, who cares?
Look for the 23-year-old in the following events:
Downhill: Wed 2/15
Combined: Fri 2/17
Super-G: Sun 2/19
Slalom: Wed 2/22
G. Slalom: Fri 2/24
Her NBC Olympianss profile tells us she enjoys "sending text messages and playing beach volleyball" in her free time. And apparently she also likes stroking her kitty, which you can see after the jump.
Lindsey Kildow
» Posted 2006-Feb-08 · Link
What can we say about our first Hot Olympian, Lindsey Kildow? Beautiful face, long brown hair, and a hot body that fills out a sweater nicely. She's totally the type we'd take home to mom. Oh, and she's talented! Last year, USA Today called her "USA's ski sensation in the making." In our book, she's certainly sensational.
Look for the 21-year-old Vail native in the following events:
Downhill: Wed 2/15
Combined: Fri 2/17
Super-G: Sun 2/19
Slalom: Wed 2/22
G. Slalom: Fri 2/24
More pics of Lindsey after the jump.
(image: New York Times)
Women's Preview: Hotness To Come
» Posted 2006-Feb-07 · Link
Back in 2004 when we covered the Summer Games for Hot Athletes, we only focused on the men. This year, we've expanded our coverage to include the hot hot women, like Gretchen Bleiler pictured here. Come back tomorrow for the kickoff of our female coverage in anticipation of the opening ceremonies on Friday night.