British sprinter Amy Hunt has publicly criticized a viral betting advertisement featuring American actress Sydney Sweeney, arguing that the campaign presents a distorted image of female athletes. The commercial features the 29-year-old Euphoria star, who has appeared in films such as Anyone But You and The Housemaid, naked while using various pieces of sports equipment to cover her body.
Hunt, who recently secured her status as a four-time European champion, voiced her frustration following her performance at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Sunday. After finishing fourth in the 200m final with a season’s best time of 22.10 seconds, she stated: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like.”
Highlighting the reality of professional athletics, Hunt contrasted the advert with the performance of winner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who clocked a time of 21.47 seconds—the fourth-fastest ever recorded for the distance. “21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening,” Hunt added during her interview.
The criticism stems from a broader frustration regarding the sexualization of women in sports and the tendency to focus on physical appearance rather than athletic achievement. The trend of speaking out began with American gymnast Gracie Kramer, who shared a training montage with the caption: “I don’t know what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what women in sport look like.”
Several other high-profile sportswomen have joined the backlash. Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus described the campaign as a “kick in the face” to women who dedicate their lives to their craft. She questioned how the sexualization of women’s sports remains prevalent in modern society. Similar sentiments were shared by Olympic champion cyclist Sophie Capewell, rugby players Ellie Boatman and Lisa Neumann, and Australian water polo Olympian Tilly Kearns.
Capewell, who spoke to the press following her own viral response, noted that the campaign promotes a narrow and unrealistic narrative. “It’s giving a very specific picture of women around sport and I think that’s the challenging thing,” Capewell said. “It’s not necessarily that people are upset with someone having autonomy, it’s the fact that that seems to be the only narrative that is directed around women in sports.”
While Sweeney has not issued a direct statement, she responded on social media by posting photos of various athletes—including tennis star Serena Williams, MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, and male athletes like Myles Garrett and Karl-Anthony Towns—posed for ESPN in limited clothing. The move appeared to be a comment on perceived hypocrisy regarding the criticism she has faced.
This is not the first time the actress has been involved in promotional controversy. Last year, a campaign for American Eagle jeans featuring the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” drew significant pushback, as critics debated the use of the wordplay and its implications regarding beauty and race standards. The report also notes that and describing the frustrations and struggles they have faced throughout their careers, the backlash has included many other athletes from a range of sports posting videos of themselves competing or training. The report also notes that how do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing. The report also notes that the amount of women who’ve come out and said something,” Capewell said Sport after her post gained attention, i think it’s quite powerful. 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 criticism surrounding the play on the words “jeans” and “genes” which sparked a debate over race and beauty standards, this also received pushback from some on social media.
