Scholz strikes the pose for Playboy

German hockey player Katharina Scholz will appear on the cover of Playboy

BEIJING: Athletes these days are baring it all for cash or cause. Catching up with this latest fad of modelling among sportspersons, German hockey player Katharina Scholz will also feature on the cover of Playboy magazine come September.

Scholz and three other German Olympic sportswomen will appear on the cover of the German edition of the magazine, adding their names to the list of ‘model-athletes’.
However, Scholz fears that news of her being a Playboy covergirl might overshadow her Olympic campaign.

“My focus now is on the Olympic games and playing hockey there, instead of talking about the Playboy cover. I think it was a good opportunity, but right now it’s not important for me,” Scholz said after her team’s 4-2 victory over United States on Thursday. “The most important thing for me is playing hockey. And because I am a hockey player, I got the opportunity to go on Playboy. Otherwise I wouldn’t have. I have no plans on a career in modelling,” Scholz added.

In a trend that is fast growing, American Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard posed naked for Playboy cover last year, and in Beijing stripped for a campaign to end fur trade, while British athletes have been photographed naked to advertise a sports drink. “Maybe when I look back at this experience after a few years, I will be proud of it. Not everybody can go on the cover of Playboy,” the 25-year-old striker, adding that she did it only because she was confident of her body and herself.

Germany’s September edition of Playboy will have four different covers when it is published on Thursday, each dedicated to one of the athletes. This is the first time that the magazine will be published in multiple covers in Germany. Sailor Petra Niemann, canoeist Nicole Reinhardt and judoka Romy Tarangul are the other German Olympians who will feature.

“It wasn’t a group decision, we haven’t even seen each other. The shooting was done separately and everyone decided for themselves,” Scholz said without divulging details about the picture that will appear.