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Kate Upton says body shut down after Antarctic bikini shoot

Supermodel Kate Upton poses at the launch party of the Sports Illustrated's 2013 Swimsuit issue, which features her on the cover, in New York February 12, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Supermodel Kate Upton poses at the launch party of the Sports Illustrated's 2013 Swimsuit issue, which features her on the cover, in New York February 12, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Tue Feb 12, 2013 8:42pm EST

(Reuters) - Swimsuit model Kate Upton said on Tuesday her body shut down after she posed in a skimpy bikini in Antarctica for Sports Illustrated magazine.

Upton, wearing only a white bikini bottom and an unzipped white parka, was picked as the cover girl for the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, unveiled on Monday, for the second consecutive year.

"It was freezing," Upton, 20, told NBC's morning TV show "Today" on Tuesday. "I'm from Florida, so it wasn't easy for me.

"When I came back, I was losing my hearing and eyesight. My body was shutting down because it was working so hard to keep me warm."

Upton joins celebrity models including Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley and Tyra Banks to appear more than once on the swimsuit issue's cover.

M.J. Day, a senior editor for Sports Illustrated, told Reuters that Upton braved temperatures as low as 24 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 Celsius) and wind chills as low as -20 Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius).

"We should name a passageway after her down there," said Day, who accompanied Upton on the frigid shoot. "She braved six days in a bikini while we were head-to-toe in jackets ... No one will ever accuse her of being a whiny model, ever."

This year's 17 models were part of photo shoots that stretched across all seven continents.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey in Los Angeles; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Mohammad Zargham)

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Comments (16)
breezinthru wrote:
I have to admire Ms. Upton for braving the cold and for sharing her extraordinary beauty with the world, but the things she describes are not the signs/symptoms of hypothermia.

Maybe no one was paying attention to her once she went back inside and bundled up to get warm again… and she just isn’t accustomed to being ignored.

Feb 13, 2013 1:30am EST  --  Report as abuse
Bobo_9 wrote:
I’ve never understood why Sports Illustrated feels they need to continue issuing their “soft porn” issue each year, other than some undersexed guys get off on it I suppose.
Even more bewildering is why young women (OK, I know it’s for the money they get paid) agree to pose like this, when the rest of society wants women to be treated with respect & NOT as sex objects.
Sorry, but women are doing it to themselves, & any disrespect comes from the fact a large portion of the women out there disrespect themselves by doing stuff like this.
Stop posing for this sort of stuff & maybe the community of men will learn how to better respect you when you at least are respecting yourself.

Feb 13, 2013 9:55am EST  --  Report as abuse
Overcast451 wrote:
Use photoshop next time…

lol

Oddly, I can’t believe that they didn’t, and this kind of reminds me of ‘news advertising’ more than anything…

Feb 13, 2013 10:17am EST  --  Report as abuse
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