Michael Phelps to be stripped of gold medals?
NO-ONE has won more Olympic golds than Michael Phelps. He’s probably won more golds than most Olympic countries have won in their history. However, things are looking a little uncertain this week. See, Phelps’ 19 gold medals may diminish in number after he got chosen to front a new advertising campaign for Louis Vuitton.
The Olympic committee have a rather large beef with advertising, don’t they?
Phelps appeared in a leaked LV advert on August 13th, which is three days before they were due to be released. Most importantly, the International Olympic Committee introduced a rule this year that states that no athlete is to participate in non-Olympic marketing campaigns from July – August 2012.
Thanks to this little breach, Phelps could be stripped of his four gold and two silver medals he won at the Games.
This means that the photo which features Phelps and former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina (77 years-old and the person he recently overtook to become the most decorated Olympian) joking around could be a bit pointless now. The men-fanciers out there will probably see the shot of him half naked in a bath as pretty useful still.
Hitting out at the notion that Phelps could have his medals swiped, Louis Vuitton have said the images were unofficial and were stolen from the company. However, if it transpires that the images were leaked intentionally by the brand, he can wave bye-bye to his most recent haul.
Posted: 21st, August 2012 | In: Sports, The Consumer Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
