July 12, 2004
By LORI EWING
Canadian Press

Nude shoot for Playboy defended by Vermeulen

Runner braces herself for fallout expected from next month's issue

VICTORIA -- Katie Vermeulen knows she will create a stir when the August issue of Playboy hits the newsstands.

But the 1,500-metre runner from Victoria said she has no regrets after posing nude for next month's issue of Playboy in a photo spread that features some of the world's top female athletes.

"It's going to be crazy, I'm not really prepared for it," said Vermeulen, who moved to Victoria from London, Ont., last September. "I'm definitely not ashamed of it, but it is hard because there's the whole connotation of it being a Playboy issue.

"But I'm sure once it comes out and people see what it's like. . . . It's so well done that I can't say anything more positive."

Also featured will be American high jumper Amy Acuff, who has gained fame on the international track and field scene as much for her designer outfits as her athletic talent.

Vermeulen is nude in the photos, but discreetly covered by the way she is posed.

"I was by myself on the shoot," Vermeulen said. "It was really well done, they were really professional, they didn't make me feel like I was an alien or anything."

She was able to look at proofs of the other athletes' shoots before she agreed to take part, and described the photos as similar to the work of acclaimed photographer Annie Leibowitz.

"This thing is done to celebrate women and women at the Olympics, and it's not about boobs or butts," Vermeulen said. "It's about strength and beauty and women who are strong and forceful, women who are posing to represent their strength and courage in their sport.

"So to me, it's much more than just posing for a magazine showing your body. It's not just an expression of what we do, but who we are."

Vermeulen's dreams for Athens died yesterday, after she missed the qualifying standard in the women's 1,500 en route to winning bronze at the Canadian Olympic track and field trials. Vermeulen had been on pace to make the standard at a meet last month in Rome before falling 20 metres before the finish line.

"I was so in the zone, I couldn't even tell my coach what happened," Vermeulen said. "I think I just went down and must have clipped a spike or something."

reprinted with permission