British sprinter Amy Hunt has criticized a controversial betting advertisement featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, warning it could become a "barrier" to young girls participating in sport. The advert for American betting company Novig shows the Euphoria star wearing minimal clothing while covering herself with sports equipment, drawing significant backlash from female athletes.

Hunt, who finished fourth in the 200m at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, told Good Morning Britain that sport should focus on "what your body can do, not so much what it looks like." She highlighted that 64 per cent of young girls drop out of exercise before age 16, emphasizing the need to remove obstacles to participation. "Sport, it's not pretty," Hunt said, describing the reality of elite training.

Other athletes joined the criticism. Former US Olympic gymnast Gracie Kramer posted competition footage captioned "this is what a woman in sport looks like," while Australian boxer Skye Nicolson distinguished between looking "sexy" through sport versus "using sex to sell 'sport'." Sweeney responded by sharing images from ESPN Magazine's BODY Issue featuring nude photos of athletes like Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe.

Hunt believes the positive reaction from women in sport has outweighed the advert's impact, creating a celebration of women's athletic achievements rather than focusing on the controversy.