British sprinter Amy Hunt has joined a growing group of female athletes speaking out against a controversial sports gambling commercial featuring American actress Sydney Sweeney. The viral promotion shows the 29-year-old star ofEuphoriaAnyone But YouandThe Housemaidnude, using various items of sports equipment to cover parts of her body.
The advertisement has provoked sharp pushback across the sporting world, with critics accusing it of sexualizing female athletes and defining women by their physical appearance rather than their professional accomplishments. Following her fourth-place finish in the 200m final at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Sunday—where she posted a season-best time of 22.10 seconds—Hunt publicly addressed the issue during a post-race interview.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” said Hunt, who claimed four European titles earlier this summer. Reflecting on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s winning performance of 21.47 seconds—the fourth-fastest time recorded in history—Hunt emphasized the physical dedication required at the elite level: “21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening.”
The wider online backlash was initiated by American gymnast Gracie Kramer, who uploaded a video montage of her training regimen with the caption, “I don’t know what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what women in sport look like.” The trend quickly gained traction as athletes across multiple disciplines shared videos detailing their training routines and personal struggles within their sports.
Multiple high-profile international figures have condemned the campaign’s messaging. Four-time Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus voiced her disappointment, questioning how the commercialization and sexualization of women’s sports remain prevalent. She called the advertisement a direct insult to every woman who has dedicated her life to mastering her discipline as well as to fans who value sport for what it truly is.
British Olympic cycling champion Sophie Capewell MBE also addressed the campaign’s impact, pointing out that using non-athletes in such contexts promotes a narrow framing of women connected to athletics. Capewell noted that while individual autonomy is not the issue, frustration arises when sexualized depictions become the primary narrative that receives commercial attention and widespread popularity surrounding women in sports.
Other prominent figures who shared their perspectives include Australian water polo Olympian Tilly Kearns, British rugby players Lisa Neumann and Ellie Boatman, and several international competitors expressing similar frustrations regarding female representation.
While Sweeney has not issued a formal statement in response to the criticism, she posted a collection of photos on social media featuring athletes who have previously posed nude or in minimal clothing, pointing to potential double standards. Her posts included past cover photos from ESPN’s Body Issue, featuring female stars such as tennis player Serena Williams and MMA fighter Ronda Rousey alongside male athletes including NFL player Myles Garrett and basketball star Karl-Anthony Towns.
This is not the first commercial campaign starring Sweeney to generate public debate. Last year, she appeared in an American Eagle denim campaign featuring the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” That advertisement faced social media pushback over a wordplay between “jeans” and “genes,” which ignited discussions surrounding beauty standards and race. The report also notes that it’s giving a very specific picture of women around sport and I think that’s the challenging thing. The report also notes that instead of it having, I don’t know, an athlete or anything else that’s more sport-centric, and that’s the way you want to portray a woman. The report also notes that with many female athletes criticising its sexualisation of women in sport, and how they are being defined by their appearance rather than their achievements as sportswomen, it has sparked a strong reaction.
