herr_0berst | Katarina Witt: Playboy (US) 12/1998 & (DE) 12/2001 (Reply)

This is the black and white version of the famous appearance of Katarina Witt in December/1998 issue of US Playboy, which created quite a buzz then it came out. Though Katarina herself later told in the interview with Sports Illustrated that "... in a way, it was just another project, a special project. I didn't do it too become more famous. I did it because of where I was in my career. It was a perfect time. I wanted to be a little provocative in my career and it completely worked. For the most part, I got compliments on it. Nobody felt threatened by it. A lot of women bought the magazine, which was for me the biggest compliment."

Kati Witt has always been known for her beauty and sex appeal as well as for her athleticism. Time magazine called her “the most beautiful face of socialism”. Kati's taste in figure skating costumes sometimes raised eyebrows. At the 1983 European championships she skated her Mozart short program in knee breeches instead of a skirt. Her blue skirtless feather-trimmed 1988 costume for a showgirl-themed short program was considered too theatrical and sexy, and led to a change in the ISU regulations which required female skaters to wear more modest clothing including skirts. In 1994, skating a Robin Hood-themed program, she again pushed the boundaries of the costume regulations by wearing not a skirt but a short tunic over leggings.

Original color versions of the US Playboy pictures and few additional from Greman edition December/2001