Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova drew attention in the outgoing Olympic games as one of a crop of new talent ushering in a fresh generation of speed queens.
Besides her excellent performance at 100m and 200m finishes, Lalova seduced cameras with a flowery design around her navel, rather like ivy around the door of country house.
"I just thought it looked nice," she said after finishing fourth in the 100m and fifth over 200m and a smile illuminated the young face decorated with an Africa-style petty hair tails.
One of the most intensive messages to leave the Athens 2004 games in history is also the "tattooing" communication established by many competitors, AFP commented.
Multi-millionaire Allen Iverson, the star guard of the United States basketball team looks even more garnished than the graffiti-covered Berlin Wall, with his upper left arm tattoos of ‘Strong', ‘Survive', ‘The Answer' and a picture of a bulldog.
Tattoed red and green flames lick up the back of Germany's much bemedalled swimmer Franziska van Almsick, but the go faster stripes didn't work - she failed to win the gold medal that has eluded her through four Olympics.