The 100 Hottest International Athletes of All Time

By (Featured Columnist) on October 14, 2010

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It's true that some of the world's best athletes come out of the United States.  However, sports is a global affair. 

While the United States may always be among the leaders during International play, there's no shortage of quality international competition.

Especially on the female side.  It's time to become worldly and expose yourself to a list full of beautiful women from all over the globe.

Here are the 100 hottest international athletes around. 

100. Aimee Watkins—New Zealand

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She's a cricket player out of New Zealand and was the team's leading wicket-taker in the 2009 World Cup.

Upon the retirement of Haidee Tiffen, Watkins was named the national team captain.

99. Irina Kalentieva—Russia

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This Russian-born beauty has a knack for action sports.

She has a passion for cross-country mountain biking, and has won many awards as a professional.

In fact, she won a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

98. Aliona Savchenko—Ukraine

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Beautiful, young, petite and flexible are all great traits in a woman.

She was most recently a bronze medal figure skater during this winter's Vancouver Olympics.

97. Gro Hammerseng—Norway

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You are staring at the captain of the Norwegian national handball team and the 2007 female World Handball Player of the Year.

In case some you guys are interested, rumor has it she doesn't swing that way.

96. Blanka Vlasic—Croatia

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At 6'4" she's a long and lean, high-jumping machine.

Vlasic is a current World Champion in indoor and outdoor high jumping.

Her personal best is 2.08m.

95. Fabiana Murer—Brazil

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Pole-vaulting is her thing and she's also got abs of steel.

Murer represented Brazil in the 2008 Olympics, but did not medal.

94. Brooke Hanson—Australia

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Hanson is a former Australian swimmer and was a teammate of young up-and-coming swimmer, Stephanie Rice in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

She was a part of the 4x100 relay team that won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics.

93. Kate Hollywood—Australia

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She looks great in a bikini but he also looks hot playing field hockey.

This Australian athlete made her Olympic debut in the 2008 Beijing Games.

And she's also a regular contributor for the hockey team Hockeyroos.

Hollywood—what a great name.

92. Maria Riesch—Germany

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If those snow boots look familiar, that's probably because you recognize Riesch from the recent Winter Olympics.

In Vancouver, she won gold medals in the super combined and the slalom competition.

91. Minea Blomqvist—Finland

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This blonde bombshell is a professional golfer that mainly partakes in the U.S. based LPGA Tour.

Her best LPGA Major Championship finish game in during the British Open where she tied for eighth in 2004.

90. Tanja Szewczenko—Germany

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She's professional figure skater that hit her prime during the mid-90s.

Now at 33 years old, she may not be as good on the ice, but still looks good off it.

89. Martina Hingis—Switzerland

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Although she was born in Slovakia, Hingis moved to Switzerland as a youngster, and honed her tennis skills there.

Hingis is a former World No. 1 tennis player, whose career was sidetracked by injuries.

She officially announced her retirement after testing positive for cocaine the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.

88. Laura Lepisto—Finland

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She's the 2008 and 2010 Finnish national champion in figure skating.

Lepisto also took part in this year's Winter Olympics, placing sixth in Vancouver.

87. Dominica Kopcik—Canada

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She's into synchonized swimming as well as reading books.

Kopcik was a part of the Canadian synchronized swimming team in the 2008 Beijing Games.

This beauty has also been said to take one or two model gigs around Montreal.

86. Loudy Tourky—Australian

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Her career first started as a gymnast but she later switched to diving.

As a diver, she won a bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics for the 10m synchronized platform.

She also won another bronze in the 10m platform during the 2004 Athens Games.

85. Ashleigh McIvor—Canada

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It may not look like it, but McIvor is a 2010 Olympic gold-medal winner in women's ski-cross.

She's got world class looks and talent to match.

84. Carolina Kostner—Italy

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See the green, white and red?

She's an Italian figure skater and World Champion.

And she likes to swim.

83. Liu Xuan—China

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She's been retired from gymnastics for the past decade but is still involved in the game as a sports reporter.

During her active years, she was a part of the controversial Chinese team with an underage participant. 

Liu won a gold medal in balance beam and a bronze medal during all-around competion (which was later stripped from the team for rules violation).

82. Linda Zueblin—Switzerland

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Zueblin is a heptathlete, which means she partakes in seven different track and field events.

No wonder she's in such good shape.

81. Isabelle Delobel—France

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She's a 32-year-old ice dancer, who officially retired from competition after the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In Vancouver, she and her partner finished in sixth place.

Too bad.

80. Xiao-Ting Pan—China

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One of the top billiards players out of China, they call her the "nine-ball queen" but she's been able to excel with even more balls on the table.

Seriously.

79. Jana Kandarr—Germany

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She's a former German tennis player.

Although there's no word if she's single, she's supposedly into horse riding, reading and theater.

78. Carin Koch—Sweden

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Koch is from Sweden and makes a living as a golfer.

She plays mostly U.S. LPGA events and has four professional tour wins under her belt.

77. Anastasia Myskina—Russia

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After winning the 2004 French Open, she became the first Russian player to win a Grand Slam title.

Her career, however, has been derailed by injuries and she hasn't played professionally since 2007.

76. Sania Mirza—India

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This tennis player is one of India's brightest and most beautiful stars.

She's also the highest ranked tennis player to ever come out of the country.

75. Margherita Granbassi—Italy

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Consider yourself lucky to see Margherita in her swimsuit.  Most of the time you'll find her covered up in her fencing outfit.

She's a foil fencer who won a gold medal at the foil 2006 World Fencing Championships.

74. Rita Dravucz—Hungary

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She's a former Olympian, with a knack for modeling.

Rita may be a good water polo player but she also has a love for having her picture taken.

73. Guo JingJing—China

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As a diver she's one of the most decorated in China's history, winning more Olympic medals than any other diver. 

She last won a pair of gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

72. Janette Hargin—Sweden

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You gotta love a woman who chills in a hot tub while drinking a Carlsberg beer.

When's she's not having fun, Hargin trains on the slopes as an Alpine skier.

71. Yu Ram Cha—South Korea

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You'll never guess what sport she plays. 

Aw, did the pool cue give it away.

Now my question here is, what's that lady behind her trying to look at?

70. Fatima Moreira De Melo—Netherlands

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The bikini is sexy, but the snake?

That's a little intimidating. 

She was a part of the 2008 gold medal-winning field hockey team who beat China 2-0.

69. Stephanie Rice—Australia

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At 22, she's still got a future as a swimmer, but she also has potential as a model.

Perhaps she might follow in the footsteps of another swimming sensation, Amanda Beard.

And by that, I'm hinting at a Playboy shoot.

We'll see.

68. Jelena Dokic—Australia

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Born in Yugoslavia, she immigrated to Australia as a young child. 

At one time she was ranked as high as No. 4 in the World.

Unfortunately for Dokic fans, she might be nearing the tail end of her career.

Dokic has failed to qualify in the last two major events, the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

67. Alona Bondarenko—Ukraine

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She's only one of many tennis-playing Bondarenko's, with a mom, an older sister and a younger sister in the sport. 

Most fans are bound to ask: Are they as hot as her?

66. Sarah Burke—Canada

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She's a freestyle skier who now lives in British Columbia.

With her being so close to Whisler, it's not often that you'll get to see her in her underwear, so enjoy it now before she hits the slopes.

65. Amanda Coetzer—South Africa

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During her playing days, Coetzer earned the nickname "The Little Asassin," for taking down opponents that were ranked higher than her.

Sounds like she's got a lot of spunk in her 5'2" frame.

Sexy.

64. Laure Manadou—France

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Can you believe that she's already retired as a professional swimmer at 22 years old?

I guess if you win a gold medal in the 400m freestyle at 18 years old, you've already accomplished a lot.

She's probably looking for something else to excel at.

63. Sara Galimberti—Italy

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A beauty queen and a track star.

This young hottie has bright future ahead of her, whether it be as a model or as an athlete.

Hopefully both.

62. Liudmila Privivkova—Russia

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See the focus in her eyes?

That's what you need to have when you're a professional curler.

It also doesn't hurt when you're good-looking.

61. Gabriela Sabatini—Argentina

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That smile and that dark hair captivated a worldwide fanbase during the 90s.

Gabby, the super hot tennis star, was a sex symbol during her prime.

Heck, she probably still is, now that she's retired.

60. Annie Pelletier—Canada

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This Canadian beauty was a gold-medal winning diver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Now in retirement, she was involved as a diving commentator for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

59. Dai Fei Fei—China

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She's a professional rhythm gymnast, and apparently also lectures at the Beijing University.

So she's got brains, flexibility and athleticism.

What else can you ask for in a woman?

58. Victoria Pendleton—United Kingdom

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She may be a world champion and Olympic track cyclist.

But the truth is, she looks a lot better off her bike than on it.

Don't you agree?

57. Severine Bremond—France

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Bremond is one of the hottest tennis players to come out of France.

Her best Grand Slam showing was making it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2006.

56. Deepika Pallikal—India

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I know what you're thinking. That doesn't look like a proper tennis racket.

Of course not, this Indian beauty is one of the country's best and better looking players.

55. Kari Traa—Norway

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You gotta love that Kari always has that fun-loving, naughty look on her face.

Hot.

Traa won a gold medal in the moguls event during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

54. Maryse Oullet—Canada

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Don't let her looks fool you. 

She may be a glamour model but she's also a wrestler, and she can hurt you.

But that's not necessarily a deal-breaker.

53. Flavia Pennetta—Italy

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On the tennis court, Flavia looks hot hitting the ball around, wearing her tennis outfits.

Off the court, she sometimes walks around with a bikini top.

Consider this your lucky day.

52. Tatiana Golovin—France

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Born in Russia, Tatiana moved to France with her family as a child.

Her highest career ranking was No. 12 in the world.

However, a form of arthritis has held back her tennis game.

If it's any consolation, it hasn't kept her from posing for Sports Illustrated.

51. Melissa Hollingsworth—Canada

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Hollingsworth was one of the hottest Olympians from this winter's Vancouver Games, but her career highlights weren't from the 2010 Olympics.

She won a bronze medal in the 2006 Turin Olympics for the women's skeleton event.

50. Vicky Parnov—Australia

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This Russian-born beauty competed in the 2007 World Championships as a pole vaulter, becoming the youngest athlete to represent Australia at that level.

If anyone wants to get a head start on their list of possible hotties to look for in the 2012 Olympics, start with her.

49. Miwa Asao—Japan

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In Japan, Miwa is quite the celebrity.

I guess they don't have many good-looking volleyball stars in the country.

48. Tania Cagnotto—Italy

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Not only does she look good in her swimsuit, she also makes a living out of diving in the water.

She took part in the 2004 Olympics as a diver for the Italian team, as a 14 year old.

47. Catherine Murphy—United Kingdom

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She announced her retirement from competitive swimming two years after participating in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Less of her?

Too bad.

46. Flavia Delaroli—Brazil

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This Flavia is in her natural habitat.

That body gets a lot of work in the water as a swimmer.

45. Franzi Van Almsick—Germany

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Since first taking part in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Franzi has gone on to earn a total of 10 Olympic medals in her career.

Nice tats!

44. Jo Fenn—United Kingdom

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Fenn is a now-retired middle distance runner.

Her career highlights include an appearance in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

43. Lauren Jackson—Australia

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She's a hot hoopster that was selected No. 1 overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft.

Jackson is also a three-time WNBA MVP and 2010 Finals MVP.

She's also posed nude in Australian magazines. 

42. Kim Yu Na—South Korea

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She is ranked as the No. 1 figure skater in the world by the ISU.

Kim was a big hit during the Vancouver Olympics, winning a gold medal in the ladies singles.

41. Gisela Dulko—Argentina

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She's both sexy and slick with the tennis racket.

Dulko has had a more successful career as a doubles player than in singles.

As a singles player she is currently ranked 48th in the world, while she's ranked No. 2 in the world as a doubles player.

Dulko usually pairs with another hottie, Flavia Pennetta, to form one of the best-looking doubles duo in tennis.

40. Francesca Piccinini—Italy

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This volleyball hottie has represented Italy in the Olympics on three different ocassions.

Can you believe you missed her?

39. Yelena Isinbaeva—Russia

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She's another pole vaulter with great abs.

Man, that's hot!

Those abs must have been the reason she's won a medal in each of the last two Summer Olympics.

38. Fabiola De Silva—Brazil

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Fabby is one of the most female decorated inline skaters around.

How good is she?

She's so good that her talents allowed a new rule to be put in place to allow women to compete in the formerly all-male vert competition.

37. Niki Gudex—Australia

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Part-model, part-athlete.

She's a mountain biker that's been named one of the sexiest women in the world by FHM.

Nice.

36. Juliana Veloso—Brazil

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This beautiful diver has been a part of the last three Olympics.

Medals?

Who cares, she's hot.

35. Sina Shielke—Germany

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As a sprinter, she's one of the hottest runners to come out of Germany.

Or, I guess we can say—she's one of the hottest to run out of Germany.

34. Kimiko Zakreski—Canada

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She's a snowboarder and MTV reality-television star.

Kimiko took part in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

33. Jo Ankier—United Kingdom

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Don't let the racket fool you.

She actually runs the 3,000 m Steeplechase and is a former British record holder.

32. Anastasia Luppova—Russia

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She is a European Champion and Russian Pyramid Billiard Champion.

Look out fellas. She loves to break balls.

31. Amy Taylor—Australia

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As a player for the Australian women's national soccer team, Taylor played defender.

She was known for her aggressive style and tackling.

Would you love for her to take you down?

30. Maria Kirilenko—Russia

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This tennis star and Russian hottie looks good anywhere, on the beach or the tennis courts.

No complaints here.

29. Natalia Ragozina—Russia

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Boxing's her thing.

She's undefeated and currently the top female super middleweight boxer in the world.

Don't you want to get in the ring with her?

28. Maurizia Cacciatori—Italy

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After finishing her career as a volleyball player, she's gone on to become a celebrity of sorts, appearing in an Italian reality television show and becoming a sports commentator.

27. Elka Graham—Australia

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She is now retired from swimming. 

Graham won a silver medal for the 4x200m freestyle in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

What do retired Olympic swimmers do after they end their professional careers?

Model, of course.

26. Tanith Belbin—Canada

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She hold a dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, but Belbin was born in Ontario and grew up in Quebec.

Her beautiful smile and good looks have won her a lot of fans and attention.

In the 2010 Winter Olympics, Belbin and her pair ice dancing partner officially announced their retirement from professional competition.

25. Claudia Toth—Germany

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Toth has to be arguably one of the hottest curlers around.

Although she's turned down offers to pose for Playboy, Toth took off her clothes for a calendar that promotes women's curling.

24. Kiira Korpi—Finland

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Cute and sweet.  Korpi figure skating's stars and also one of the most beautiful.

In Finland, she's known as the "Ice Princess."

23. Alina Kabayeva—Russia

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Kabayeva is now a Russian politician, but before she started that career, she was a popular rhythmic gymnast.

She's also been linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

22. Ana Paula Mancino—Italy

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Born in Brazil, Mancino moved to Italy at 19 years old to pursue a career as a volleyball player.

Hmm.

I wonder what would have happened if she started pursuing modeling first.

21. Milka Duno—Venezuela

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Move over Danica Patrick, Milka Duno just may top you as the hottest female racer around.

Duno supposedly got started with racing at an older age, 24, and before that she was a navy engineer and model.

20. Christine Arron—France

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She's one of the fastest women in Europe and holds the European record for the 100m.

Arron also has a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay from the 2004 Athens Olympics.

19. Chloe Butler—Australia

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She's former rugby cheerleader that moved to the United States so she can play football.

American football, wearing nothing but lingerie.

Seriously.

18. Dominika Cibulkova—Slovakia

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Love this photo Dominika.

It shows how much tennis work she gets done under the sun.

Those tan lines are sexy.

17. Daniela Hantuchova—Slovakia

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It's hard to keep track of how many tennis hotties there are, but Hantuchova is just another one.

She is currently ranked No. 29 in the world, and she looks great in pink.

16. Maria Verchenova—Russia

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Tennis has so many Anna's and Maria's that it's hard to keep track, but golf only has one Maria.

Her.  And she's hot.

15. Tatiana Grigorieva—Australia

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She's a gold-medal winning pole vaulter, who first gained popularity during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Grigorieva has now achieved celebrity status in Australia, where she's been a contestant on Dancing With The Stars and was a gladiator in the television show Gladiators.

14. Jade Johnson—United Kingdom

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With a body like that, I would have guessed she was another pole vaulter, but she's actually a long jumper. 

In 2009, she was announced as a contestant in the British show Strictly Come Dancing.

13. Luciana Aymar—Argentina

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Aymar is known as one of the best female field hockey players around.

With great dribbling skills, she's got the talent to beat most opposing players.

Think you can beat her?

12. Bia and Bianca Feres—Brazil

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The twins.

A pair of hot and beautiful synchronized swimmers. 

Of course, they'll be near the top of this list.

11. Katarina Witt—Germany

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After Marilyn Monroe, only Katarina Witt has sold the most number of Playboy magazines.

Why? 

She's a hot former figure skater that has a global following. 

At 44, Witt is still very sexy.

10. Ana Ivanovic—Serbia

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Ivanovic was a former World No. 1 tennis player.

In 2008, she won the French Open. 

I'm not sure what trophy that is she's holding, but aren't you jealous?

9. Victoria Vanucci—Argentina

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She once had aspirations of becoming a successful professional tennis player, but a back injury ruined her chances.

Now she's gone on to become a singer, model and television personality.

Victoria seems to have done pretty well for herself, don't you agree?

8. Maria Sharapova—Russia

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Here's one of everyone's favorite tennis beauties—Maria Sharapova.

Born in Russia, she actually spends most of her time in the United States.

Sharapova simply has this charm about her that makes her one of the hottest tennis players around.

7. Biba Golic—Serbia

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While tennis has plenty of beauties, table tennis only has Biba Golic.

Don't you just want to see her in action?

6. Anna Semenovich—Russia

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After retiring as an ice dancer, she's gone on to become a model, actress and celebrity.

If you were as hot as Anna, you'd be an instant celebrity too.

5. Anna Kournikova—Russia

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And yes, Anna has to be included.

It's just too bad her tennis career was cut short by injuries.

But at least many of us can still admire her in retirement, thanks to a trusty search tool called Google images.

4. Roberta Mancino—Italy

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This hottie an avid skydiver and action sports freak.

She's got the looks of a model and the courage of a lion.

Her love for extreme sports has been legendary and she's supposedly logged over 4,000 skydiving jumps.

3. Leryn Franco—Paraguay

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Leryn's got that pouty-face look down.

Come to think of it, she's rarely ever smiling in her photos.

Must be a serious model and a serious competitor.

She competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she placed 51st in the javelin throw.

2. Laisa Andrioli—Brazil

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She's got to be the hottest soccer player on the planet, let alone the Brazilian national team.

Sorry Hope Solo and Heather Mitts.

Looking at Laisa Andrioli makes people want to do bad things and be punished with a red card.

1. Han Ji Yeon—South Korea

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I bet you'll never guess what sport she's played.

Or, better yet.  Do you even care?

Well it's volleyball, but she's done with the sport.

There's no more chance for you to catch her diving and digging for the ball.

Too bad.

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