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George Pimentel / WireImage via Getty Images, file
Sacha Baron Cohen as "Borat" (Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage)
Australian Olympic shooting gold medalist Russell Mark is set to parade in a lime-green "mankini" made famous by the movie character "Borat" at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics as the penalty for losing a bet.
Mark, who won double trap gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games and silver in Sydney, pledged to wear the skimpy swimsuit worn by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the 2006 film if Melbourne-based Carlton lost to St. Kilda in the Australian Football League.
Carlton suffered a shock four-goal defeat in the match on Monday night and Mark owned up to making the bet on local radio.
"Oh, I must've been intoxicated. Carlton promise so much and just deliver so little. It kills me," the burly 48-year-old said on Tuesday.
"Anyway, a lot of people would think a mankini might look better than the uniform they've nominated for us, so I don't know if it's such a bad thing."
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images, file
Double trap shooter Russell Mark of Australia, pictured in Beijing in 2008.
The one-piece swimsuit would certainly stand out among the other Australian athletes, who will be kitted out in stodgy green blazers and white slacks which fashion critics in Australia described as "retro".
An Australian Olympic Committee spokesman recommended Mark keep the mankini in the closet.
"Age is the problem here. Russell is no spring chicken, his days of being a model are long gone, and we don't think it would be a good look for the team to have Russell in a mankini," the spokesman told local media.
"Besides, this will be his sixth Olympics and he is a chance to be named as flag bearer. Imagine the flag bearer out in front of our team in a mankini. And a big, butch shooter at that.
"As we all know the London weather is fickle and we would not want him to catch cold."
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If he wears that thing,he better carry his shotgun too.
Nice !!
everyone that will see that has lost as well.
I would think that the Olympic committee, and the Australian Olympic committee, will probably not allow him to wear the mankini. Would not show the proper respect, right?
well, grin and bare it!
deb-oh-rah: I was just thinking the same thing, you just know that someone is going to come up with a rule about what can and can not be worn and somehow this won't qualify.
I must admit, at least the Aussie team appears to have a bit of a sense of humor about it. You can also tell that there is no way they'd let him do it.
He should wear a tear away uniform and have the mankini under it. There have been other instances in Olympic history of political statements being made and this is a simple personal statement of I live up to what I say.
I will make sure NOT to watch that.......... yuck!
It's so easy to make "news" these days....
The Olympics were originally done in the nude, so I guess would be a step up.
I hope he does it, not because i'm down with that, but because the outfits most of the countries wear (including America) always seem to be the height of fashion from 1962. It's an athletic event, get some warmup suits or something! Maybe they'd get higher ratings for the opening ceremonies if the swim teams did something to the effect of this bet as well.
Good for him -- A bet is a bet.
Do it! Do it! Do it!
(Viewership of the opening ceremonies will double.)
Sorry, I don't consider it attractive at all. I don't like speedos, but that would be favorable over this.
I must admit that this wouldn't be my first choice for him, but hey, nothing wrong with being different. Personally, I love men in speedos, the smaller the better. I hate the swimmers now wearing body suits. Just looks so unnatural.
The color isn't flattering, there are other hues that would look better. That skimpy, the condition of the bod underneath is important - fortunately, most Olympic athletes have really well-toned bodies, so if he's good looking, well, I'm not going to object, at all (grin).
Ya gotta admit, this is one of those things that looks worse from the back than from the front!
That thing looks awful, why would he disrespect himself and others like this...
Because he made the bet and he's fulfilling his part of it. Unlike many who would try to find some way out of what they've committed to.
Don, I'm with you 100%. Most would back out. And, that would be cheating on a bet. You don't cheat at the Olympics.
He made a stupid bet. And now we know just why we shouldn't make stupid bets.
True CM but he still made the bet and he can't welsh out on it now.
That's just wrong on so many levels.
The only thing that comes to mind is a line from Will Smith from Men in Black II......."Oh hell no!"
Was this bet alcohol induced? People REALLY REALLY shouldn't make bets like this one.
He's lost more than a bet!
"Age is the problem here...his days of being a model are long gone, and we don't think it would be a good look..." an Australian Olympic Committee spokesman told local media.
Perhaps one of their swimmers could substitute for him!
Now that is some earth shattering news! hahahahaha
Liked the movie "Borat" though!!
Just goes to show MSNBC has a sense of humor! :)
I honestly hope he does it, it will inject a bit of humor into something that has gotten way too serious and obsessed with every story of hardship the athletes endured. I think it would be a nice counter point to, as Oprah or whoever is narrating the ceremony starts talking about how some Australian got up at 4:30 am and overcame a lifetime of bed wetting to get to the Olympics, you see this guy in a Borat mankini walking through the shot.
It's nice that some people in the world still have a sense of humor. You couldn't get away with that here...the wingnuts would come out of the wordwork to condemn this guy. Case in point: whenever Obama goes on late night, the terrorists win and we become more socialist.
People sitting up close to this event should wear shades... it is not going to be pretty...
Yes, but it just might be worth the price of admission!
Oh, gag! (NOT the "joke" type of gag!) Now, if it were Michael Phelps.......
The simple solution here, to meet the terms of the bet & not embarass himself, would be to wear the stupid thing UNDER his opening ceremony togs. That way no one has to go blind seeing him in this ridiculous outfit, but he won't be welshing on the bet either! Should teach him to never bet again, tho!
Why not propose that he pull a Madonna and wear it over his Team outfit?
The original olympians were naked...oh for the good old days!!!
This is great...I've never watched the Olympics.They bore me.But by damn I'm gonna be center stage for this this year...
Ewwwww! Someone get him a mirror! Maybe I can sue him for psychological damage seeing him in this thing. One word - NAIR!
Oh yeah, that will just exemplify the honor of being an Olympic athlete for sure. You go right ahead and get into the press wearing that thing and then wonder why people in your country aren't proud when your name comes up.
two words.....g r o w u p !
DOOOOO ITTTT! I'll sign a petition in support of him being named flag bearer, too. Hilarious!
Props for being willing to follow through, but I doubt it will be allowed.