Katia in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

[jcspkbfan]

I remember someone posted a link to a news blurb about Katia's Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot awhile back and there was quite a bit of speculation whether or not Katia was mistaken for Katarina Witt. Well, it looks like Katia Gordeeva was the one who posed for this edition after all:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2003_swimsuit/athletes/lg_4.html

I have to admit Katia's one of the last skaters I would envision doing a shoot like this, but she does look great! Nice to see more photos of real athletes and fewer photos of models in this issue, too. :)

[skatorade]

hmmm... I think Katia is beautiful but I don't think this is a good photograph. Hopefully, there are better ones in the print edition.

[md2be]

Yikes, I agree...not the best picture.

[laila]

I think it's an absolutely beautiful picture of Katia. She looks natural and stunning.

[dbell]

I'm amazed she's still in such great shape after having 2 children! Go Katia! :)

[viennese]

you know what's shocking about this photo?

the suntan.

when have you ever seen Katia, or any other Caucasian skater, looking less than pasty-white?

[butterfly]

Originally posted by viennese
you know what's shocking about this photo?

the suntan.

when have you ever seen Katia, or any other Caucasian skater, looking less than pasty-white? a suntan may look "healthy and pretty" in today's shallow society, but pasty-white is smart white. With all the information that is out there today regarding the dangers of melanoma and the clear proof that damage to the skin from the sun can give you a leathery, winkled skin when you are older, I am always amazed that we still look on tan as good and "pasty-white" as bad. This is off the subject of Katia but I couldn't resist.

[TRAxel]

Katia looks beautiful! WOW! I would rather see her IN a bathing suit than NOT IN a bathing suit :D

[loveskating]

I think she looks absolutely gorgeous...Katia is one of the most beautiful women in the world, IMHO.

Wish we could see her acting, although I don't know of any time she has said she wanted to act. Its just that she is so "one of a kind" you want to see her on the silver screen.

[Alexeiskate]

Originally posted by butterfly
a suntan may look "healthy and pretty" in today's shallow society, but pasty-white is smart white. With all the information that is out there today regarding the dangers of melanoma and the clear proof that damage to the skin from the sun can give you a leathery, winkled skin when you are older, I am always amazed that we still look on tan as good and "pasty-white" as bad. This is off the subject of Katia but I couldn't resist.

People do use artificial tan....


Katia looked great. She looked natural and like an athelete, like an outdoor volleyball player.

[cello]

I think she looks great too.

LOL at the pasty white comment - there are quite a few pale pale female skaters. But Nicole Bobek used to look pretty tan on occassion.

Also, some people use tanning sprays. I read an article that Jennifer Aniston bought some type of booth that sprays self-tanner on you from all directions, and that is how she keeps her deep tan. So tans don't automatically mean skin cancer and wrinkles anymore.

[dbell]

Totally off topic - the ladies on Baywatch used fake tan too! Of course, no one was looking at their tan lines! 8O

I had a nasty case of sun poisoning years ago, so now I'm quite happy to be pasty white all summer. ;)

[P Rider]

I think it's a lovely photo--Katia looks very natural and beautiful.

I remember seeing photos of Katia at Kristi Yamaguchi's wedding in Hawaii, and Katia was sporting a mega-sunburn, so apparently she does get out of the rink and into the sun occasionally!

[Taz-Man]

*deep sigh*...[melting in my shoes]

...Now THERE'S a picture worth a thousand words... :D

I've absolutely adored Katia over the years, and this is a great picture of her. It really helps to show the 'spark' that's come back into her life.
(And who the heck cares if it's "fake-n-bake" or not, it looks good!) :)

[Maximillian]

m

[ROBROY43]

Actually I've noticed both Bobek & Kwiatkoowski being pretty tan at Nationals several winters & Eldredge/Yags/Anton S have had that strangely tan look in winter before. I just assumed the guys had fake bake so they wouldn't have to wear makeup.

Kwan also seems to get noticeably darker during the summer tour- remember her doing the Goodwill games once w/ really bad tan lines from a bikini.

And who can for get Elena B at the Olympics.

Back- on point- I thought Katia looked great- I'm guessing one or two thought it wasn't flattering to her middle but that's what most women look like- actually few women look that good. That was a very 'real' shot, they usually have the models turn one half sideways or bend backwards or place their hand in odd ways to get "desired" shots. (Or they do pretty massive airbrushing- you'd be surprised what happens after the pictures are taken. Some of them even use digital camera's now because they don't need film copies since they'll be putting them into the computer for fixes. (How I don't know because I always have crappy luck with digital cameras but I'm guessing the pros put enough $ or time in to figure them out.)

I also thought it was a great shot of Serena- they may have taken time to find her best angle but it was obviously her & they didn't botch her skin tone up or readjust her body- compare these to that Kwan head shot from the USFSA page last year where it looked like they tried to even her skin/airbrush little moles off and "shade" her nose. Not only did it not look better- it looked like someone else. Also I've seen some Hughes poses where they obviously posed her for shots to get a more pleasing body line & airbrushed her complextion. It just looked odd. Both looked better in candid shots.

I usually think people look better natural or with only minor touching up- not when you have those shots of Heidi Lum or Cameron Diaz that look great so that when they are somewhere in person every one says they look rough. At least SI didn't show any 95 pound women with inexplicably noticeable cleavage. I think it's because its mostly men who buy it & we like some meat on a women or at least someone who's through puberty- unlike the women's mags that always have stick figures with breasts (cough- Cosmo-cought).8-)

[yogurtslinger]

I don't know, I don't really like the picture... and it's not her abs, it's her face- I always wonder how people are able to take these not so attractive pictures of highly attractive people. Another example that pops off the top of my head is Trista Rehn-- she looks so beautiful in those screen stills, but some of those promo photos make her look as if she were all corners and harsh edges.

I agree with whoever said that little to no touch-up is better... I think the best pictures are able to "capture" a real "feeling" of the person at his/her finest.

The Target photos of Katia are much more beautiful in my opinion.. she looks kind of thick in this picture... sorta like Kat Witt.

[Mel On Ice]

as my grandmother would say, "yeah, I'd kill to look that bad"

sarcasm on... sarcasm off

I love the fact Katia has regained confidence and joy. And kudos for looking that good after having two babies. I don't look nearly that good, and I don't have ANY kids.

[Melanie Z]

Has anyone seen the magazine yet and are there any additional pictures in it?

I thought the photo looked terrific but they could have found a better one. That's why I'm wondering what they put in the magazine and how they compare to this on online.

[KHenry14]

Melanie, I've seen the magazine "spread" on Katia, and it's nice. It's very different than the other shots in the edition, because the pictures are much more modest than any of the other models, including the other athletes. The pic that is linked above is actually cropped more in the magazine, so it's even less revealing, and there is one of her getting out of a pool in a red one piece suit shot from behind which has her looking over her right shoulder. And finally there is a collage of 4 pictures with her in a sort of red plaid shirt with a bikini underneath. Not very revealing at all. Cute, but not racy in the least.

The accompanying article quotes Katia as saying that she was stunned that SI would ask her, and at first she didn't want to do it. She states that she'd never done anything like it before, but as she warmed to the idea she thought it'd be OK as long as the pic's were "perfect".

Ken

[Ice_On_Winnipeg]

What I love about the photo is that it looks fresh and natural..not posed and contrite! She is possibly one of the most beautiful women in the world who look that way any time of the day or night. On and rink and off. She doesn't need to primp or does she rarely worry about her appearance at all. She looks happy, more mature and VERY content with herself. Cudos to her for doing the shoot. I'd love to see more..

[sashafras]

I have to agree with the consensus. Katia looks gorgeous, buff and healthy. To look that great after two children is incredible. She looks happy and peaceful too.

[donnamarie]

Originally posted by butterfly
a suntan may look "healthy and pretty" in today's shallow society, but pasty-white is smart white.

I don't think anyone said that a tan was good, or that being white was bad - they were just surprised that a skater would have a tan.

[butterfly]

Originally posted by donnamarie
I don't think anyone said that a tan was good, or that being white was bad - they were just surprised that a skater would have a tan. Using the term "pasty" is pretty derogatory and might influence some young person to get a tan. No amount of warning will cause young or old people to stay out of the sun, but I know of one coach that advised a skater to go to a tanning booth in preparation for competition and I find that irresponsible and downright stupid. If someone wants to put a bottled tanner on great if they want to tan in the sun that is their decision. Melanoma is an extremely dangerous cancer and I take every opportunity to warn people of the danger.

[Andie]

First, I think the SI swimsuit thing is just another very superficial oogling of society, and I would never want to be in anything like that. I haven't seen the pic, but going by what someone said, if she is in something less racy, that's better.

About tan vs white - I don't get what the big deal is with a white person being untanned. There is way too much emphasis on tans. I personally think that an extremely dark tan is ugly and abnormal, it makes people look like a burnt french fry. If I want a tan, I use a lotion or spray, not a tan bed and I never spend too much time in the sun.

We shouldn't judge or ridicule black people by the color of THEIR skin. So why is it okay to belittle Caucasians for being pale? Hmmm.:?? Beats me.

[jcspkbfan]

Scans of the other photos from Katia's Sports Illustrated shoot have been posted on the G&G Corner site:

http://www.gg-corner.de/pictures/e/e_2003off-ice.htm

The first page has a nice, brief article about Katia. The Today Show also showed a few clips of Katia's shoot last weekend, and the makeup artist apparently applied some sort of sunscreen or body lotion on her during the shoot (just in case this might solve the debate about her tan/lack thereof).

[Alexeiskate]

Wow, she looks great. You couldn't tell the difference between Katia and a real model in those photos.

[Blade1]

I think Katia looks beautiful. I see nothing wrong with the photo. It was tastefully done !!!

[Lark]

Originally posted by butterfly
a suntan may look "healthy and pretty" in today's shallow society, but pasty-white is smart white. With all the information that is out there today regarding the dangers of melanoma and the clear proof that damage to the skin from the sun can give you a leathery, winkled skin when you are older, I am always amazed that we still look on tan as good and "pasty-white" as bad. This is off the subject of Katia but I couldn't resist.
Actually there have been recent studies suggesting that the sun PREVENTS skin cancer.
How else would you suggest the higher level of skin cancer in the north than the south? Or higher levels in blacks than whites? Very interesting.