New Louis Vuitton Ads: Gold Medal Inspirations

Michael Phelps & Larisa Latynina of Russia, 77, in new LV ads, as seen in Hello! Magazine

The new stars of a Louis Vuitton ad are US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who recently broke the record for winning the most all-time medals, and  Larisa Latynina, 77, the Soviet gymnast who previously held that record.

According to the New York Times, "For nearly half a century, no one approached the number of Olympic medals that Latynina won from 1956 to 1964. She was the first superstar in gymnastics..."

The Times explains that Latynina was such a determined athlete that she even competed in the 1958 world championships while four months pregnant with her daughter, Tatyana. Latynina says that she kept her pregnancy secret, telling only her doctor, so that no one would stop her from competing. 
She won five gold medals that year, of which Tatyana told the Times,  “I consider them mine. We won them together.”

Latynina is such an inspiration- right down to the fact that, the Times reports, while she was in the stands watching Phelps break her long-held record, "when the moment came, she knew exactly what a great champion should do. She put on her lipstick."