Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.Becky Hammon just wants to be an Olympian -- so badly that she'll use her dual citizenship this summer as a member of the Russian national team, an act that has led some to call her a traitor.
Quick history: Despite being an All-America at Colorado State, Becky Hammon was shunned at the 1999 WNBA draft. She joined the New York Liberty as a free agent, where she had an immediate impact off the bench but spent four years backing up Teresa Weatherspoon. After a breakout season in 2003, she was left off the Athens squad in 2004. In 2007, she was the runner-up in the WNBA MVP vote, yet her invitation to try out for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team was less than sincere.
Personally, if I'd been snubbed by one country that much, I might consider going where I felt appreciated, too -- her Russian club, CSKA Moscow, pays her in the seven figures, and she was a lock for the Olympic team there.
But let's take a step back from the politics involved and ask something more superficial: how does this dilemma affect her sex appeal? Will this affect her potential sponsorships? Might Americans actually cheer for a Russian team? Is "Becky" an acceptable Russian name? None of these answers -- and more! -- after the jump.
Breaking Down the Basics
| Age | 31 |
| Hair | Blonde... but don't think we can't see those brown roots, sister |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Height | 5' 6" |
| Weight | 136 |
| Famous skills | Scoring, ball-handling |
| Cuter when... | Paired with adorable puppy |
| Sad truth | Lists N*SYNC among favorite music artists |
| Unfortunate nicknames | Hammon Cheese, Hammon Deggs, Hamm-on Whole Wheat, etc. |
Presentation of Medals
*When judging, assume that Gold suggests a future of GoDaddy.com-level of endorsements, and Bronze points toward appearances in local circulars.
Attractive Olympians
Maria Sharapova This will be the first Olympics for the Russian tennis star, who has won three Grand Slam titles.
Brad Barket/Getty Images for IMG
Laure Manaudou: The French swimmer and Gold medal winner in the 400m freestyle holds the world records for the 400m freestyle and 200m freestyle.
Getty Images
Anna Bessonova Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast won bronze at the 2004 games and earned gold at the World Championships in '07.
TATYANA MAKEYEVA/AFP/Getty Images
Demetrius Andrade The reigning world AIBA boxing champion at 152 pounds, Andrade was a Golden Glove winner in '06 and '07.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Alicia Sacramone: A member of the United States gymnastics team since 2003, Sacramone has earned seven medals from three world championships.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Ana Ivanovic: Serbian tennis player reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2007 and the 2008 Australian Open final.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Jennie Finch: Pitched the USA to gold in 2004. She and her teammates have many fans, none more so than Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys.
Mark Davis/Getty Images
Apolo Anton Ohno: U.S. short track speed skater won TV's Dancing With the Stars, and has earned five Olympic medals, including gold in the 500m at the 2006 games.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Kris Freeman: Competed for the U.S. Ski Team in cross country at the 2002 and '06 games, finishing 14th in Salt Lake City.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
James Blake: No. 9 pro tennis player in the world says he plans to represent the U.S. at the Beijing games.
Vince Bucci/Getty Images
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-24-2008 @ 6:44PM
Orange Chuck said...
I can honestly say this, I was born in Germany but not allowed dual citizenship under German law. Had I been and was treated better by a German company, I would be gone quicker then the the little angel on the shoulder of Don Imus. This girl is a hottie, she's a hottie, got a smokin little body and I gave her a gold medal and might actually watch the Olympics now, especially Russian women's basketball.
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6-24-2008 @ 11:48PM
eeedlef said...
You lost me at the part where a female basketball player makes seven figures.
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6-25-2008 @ 12:01AM
petejayhawk said...
Chuck - that's f**ked up. I'm the grandson of German immigrants and I have been offered the option of dual citizenship. I have no idea how they make that determination; it certainly has nothing to do with any written guidelines.
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6-25-2008 @ 12:02AM
petejayhawk said...
Oh, and yeah - she's cute, but why must the tall girls all have the prominent foreheads?
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6-25-2008 @ 12:14AM
Ryan said...
I wouldn't call Becky a tall girl, she's 5'6
http://www.collegefastbreak.com/
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6-25-2008 @ 12:26AM
George B Vieto said...
Becky Harmon is not a traitor compared to Hanoi Jane.
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6-25-2008 @ 6:30AM
James D said...
She is a traitor. She has no Russian ancestry and has no plans to permanently live in Russia. Her only goal is to prevent the United States from winning a gold medal and having the Russian anthem play over the US anthem. Olympics are about country and/or hertige. She's making it about selling out your country and be a propaganda tool to disgrace the United States. 'Look at the United States, they're our bitches now, we are the ones who buy players.'
That traitor Hammon better not think of stepping on the podium or showing any reaction if the United States wins the gold. In the Olympics(and hopefully afterwards) she is not an American. I hope her evil plan fails. She sickens me.
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6-26-2008 @ 12:25AM
Emerson said...
A recap of Matt Ufford's literary achievements:
- He posted photos of a high school pole vaulter.
- He posted photos of the daughter of SI writer Peter King.
- He told the Washington Post he was a comedy writer, an interesting publication to speak to given Ufford's obvious distaste for the mainstream media (unless it promotes his site, of course).
-He rates female Olympians on their looks.
Congrats, Fanhouse. You're with a winner.
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8-17-2008 @ 2:40PM
LetFreedomRing said...
This young woman is an athlete who has probably trained for and dreamed about this moment her whole life....the Olympics. She should not have to give up on her dream because she was not invited to join the American team.
This belief that she's just doing this to spite America is extremely juvenile. She's just trying to fulfill her dream of playing in the Olympics.
If she leads Russia to the gold medal so be it. The American team decided there were better players out there and passed her up. They had an opportunity to have her play with them.
I'm certain she is conflicted enough without our help.
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