ATHLETES CRITICISE SYDNEY SWEENEY'S ADVERT FOR SPORTS APP NOVIG

Sydney Sweeney has faced criticism from athletes over an advertising campaign for Novig, a US sports prediction platform, released on Wednesday. The advert shows the actor in various states of undress as she mock-plays sports including ice hockey, American football, tennis and basketball. Retired Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus said the campaign sexualised women's sport, calling it a "kick in the face" to women who have dedicated their lives to their craft. British sprinter Amy Hunt made similar criticisms directly to Sweeney while speaking to the BBC, saying the advert did not reflect what women in sport actually look like.

Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, wrote on Instagram that she felt "infuriated" watching the advert and asked how monetising a woman's body and sexualising women's sport was "still a thing". Hunt spoke out after finishing fourth in the 200 metres at the Ultimate Championships on Sunday. She referenced the winning time of 21.47 seconds recorded by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the fourth-fastest ever over the distance, saying: "Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears." Hunt added that being a woman in sport "is not pretty" and "is not glamorous".

Sweeney responded on Sunday, sharing Instagram Stories featuring male and female athletes who have posed nude during their careers. Novig's founder and chief executive, Jacob Fortinsky, told Front Office Sports that Sweeney approached the company herself and was "interested in some kind of equity partnership". Sweeney told Complex magazine she had been involved in "the creative conversations from the very beginning" of the campaign. Novig describes itself as a platform allowing users to trade on the outcomes of sporting events.