The controversy surrounding the "sexualization of women's sports" sparked by an advertisement featuring American actor Sydney Sweeney is showing signs of prolonging amid widespread criticism.

Recently, Sydney Sweeney appeared in an advertisement for the American sports betting company Novig.

Sweeney appears wearing almost no clothes, covering parts of her body with sporting goods such as a soccer ball and a rugby ball while repeating the word "sports."

Female athletes who saw the ad have poured out fierce criticism.

They uploaded videos of their own training sessions, match scenes, and medal-winning moments on social media, criticizing the intention and problematic nature of the advertisement.

Australian Olympic swimming gold medalist Ariarne Titmus said, "I cannot put into words how angry I was when I saw this video," criticizing it as "an insult to every woman who has dedicated her life to honing her skills."

British track and field athlete Amy Hunt pointed out on BBC broadcasting, "The true image of women in the sports world is muscle, effort, sweat, blood, and tears," adding, "Being a female athlete is never about being pretty, glamorous, or sexy."

Australian world champion boxer Skye Nicolson also pointed out, "This controversy does not stem from criticizing women's appearances, but from mocking women in the sports world," adding, "There is a huge difference between 'looking sexy' through sports and using sexuality to sell 'sports.'"

Some argue that the criticism should be directed at Novig rather than Sweeney.

Former American IBF women's bantamweight world champion Ebanie Bridges posted a photo on her social media superimposing her own face onto Sweeney's advertisement, pointing out, "She is not an athlete and this video is just an advertisement.

Furthermore, that ad promotes gambling, not sports."

Despite the controversy, the advertisement surpassed 37 million views just four days after its release, and Novig's social media mentions reportedly increased ninefold.

(Reported by Kim Ji-hye | Video by Jung Yong-hee | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)