2008 Olympic Games

This feature is exclusively on Playboy.com. This pictorial is NOT a feature in Playboy magazine

Playboy.com today launched a new pictorial featuring Playboy models wearing the most technologically advanced swimsuits, in celebration of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The new feature (www.playboy.com/swimsuits) reveals a 12-image slideshow of Speedo’s official Olympic swimsuits over the past six games — dating back to 1988 — shot poolside at a fitness club in Chicago. The online images pay homage to the Olympic swimming competitions which run from August 9th through August 21st.

“Olympic swimmers are known for their beautiful, toned bodies which always are highlighted by their sleek suits,” said John Thomas, Editor for Playboy.com. “We are excited about this unique opportunity to showcase Speedo’s official Olympic swimsuits over the past decade, with the story behind the suits adding a new layer of interest about the victorious swimmers who wear them.”

In the pictorial, the Speedo swimsuits are worn by Greenville, Michigan native Cassie Keller, 18, and Sharae Spears, 24, from Knoxville, Tennessee. Cassie is a Playboy “Special Editions” model who will be featured on the “College Girls” cover released on December 2nd and Sharae is the August 2008 Cyber Girl of the Month. The buoyant beauties wear the following swimwear: the Speedo Star Axcel (1988), Speedo S2000 (1992), Speedo Aquablade (1996), Fastskin Speedo (2000), Fastskin FSII (2004), and Speedo LZR Racer (2008).

Although both Playboy models wear the one-pieces, Sharae — who sports the latest Speedo — took almost 30 minutes to squeeze into hers, as also is the case for professional swimmers. This year’s suit — the Speedo LZR Racer — which independent testing has shown to be the world’s fastest, is the brand’s most hydro-dynamically advanced swimsuit to date. The NASA-researched suit reduces drag while swimming and compresses the muscles to reduce fatigue. Since its February launch, 48 out of 50 world records set have been by swimmers wearing the LZR.

No stranger to the beauty of Olympic swimmers, Playboy magazine previously featured seven-time breaststroke medalist Amanda Beard who posed nude last July and 100-meter backstroke swimmer Haley Clark, also nude, in September 2004’s “Women of the Olympics” cover story. Additionally included in this special issue were seven other Olympic athletes including U.S. pole-vaulter Mary Sauer and high-jumper Amy Acuff.

Source: Playboy Enterprises, Inc.