Olympic ink: Athletes show off their tats

epa03331989 A four-leaf clover tattoo seen of the shoulder of Fanny Lecluyse of Belgium while she competes in the women's 200m Breaststroke Heats during the Swimming competition held at the Aquatics Center during the London 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, 1 August 2012. EPA/PATRICK B. KRAEMER

Misty May-Treanor (R) and Kerri Walsh try to return the ball during the womens Beach Volleyball final match against April Ross and Jennifer Kessy on the Centre Court Stadium in Horse Guards Parade on London on August 08, 2012, for the London 2012 Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/GettyImages

Fabien Gilot proudly showed off Hebrew tattoo seconds after winning Olympic gold medal, his father explains it was gesture to grandmother's Jewish husband. When French swimmer Fabien Gilot took to the swimming pool at the London 2012 Olympic Games this week, one person was in Gilot's thoughts as shown by the tattoo on his left arm which read: \"I am nothing without them,\" in Hebrew. The man behind the tattoo is Gilot's grandmother's husband, Max Goldschmidt, a Holocaust survivor who witnessed the horrors of Auschwitz and became one of the most influential people in the Olympic champion's life. Gilot, who together with his teammates brought France a historic gold medal in the 4X100 freestyle relay, created quite a stir in Israel and around the world when his Hebrew tattoo was discovered. File photo : French Swimmer Fabien Gilot during the day two of the XXVe International Meeting Arena of Swimming at the Arlette Franco Center in Canet-en-Roussillon, near Perpignan, France on Juny 7, 2012. Photo by Mic

The heavily tattooed Damien Hooper of Australia fights back tears following his match with Egor Mekhontcev of Russia in their round of 16 Light-heavyweight (81kg) contest of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the ExCel Arena on August 4, 2012 in London. Mekhontcev was awarded a 19-11 points decision. AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/GettyImages)

The tattoos of US swimmer Anthony Ervin are pictured before the swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 1, 2012 in London. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/GettyImages)

A tattoo of the Olympics rings is seen on US archer Brady Ellison's arm as he competes against Philippine's Mark Javier in the men's individual 1/32 elimination match on Day 5 at Lord's Cricket Ground in London on August 1, 2012 during the London 2012 Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SamadJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages

The tattoos of Becky Holliday of the U.S. are seen as she competes in her women's pole vault Group B qualification at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (BRITAIN - Tags: OLYMPICS SPORT ATHLETICS)

Tattoo is seen on Spain's Andrea Blas Martinez during their women's water polo quarterfinal round against Great Britain at the Water Polo Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 5, 2012. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS SPORT WATER POLO)

The tattoo of Lebanon's Gretta Taslakian is seen during her women's 200m round 1 heat at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 6, 2012. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (BRITAIN - Tags: OLYMPICS SPORT ATHLETICS)

Hungary's Gergo Ivancsik sports a tattoo during the men's handball quarterfinal match against Iceland at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: Tattoos of Adriana Araujo of Brazil are displayed during the Women's Light (60kg) Boxing semifinals on Day 12 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 8, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

REFILE - ADDING HEADLINE Hungary's Marianna Sastin (with tattoo) fights with Ukraine's Yuliya Ostapchuk on the Women's 63Kg Greco-Roman wrestling at the ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Toru Hanai (BRITAIN - Tags: OLYMPICS SPORT WRESTLING)

A view shows an Olympic-themed tattoo on Australia's Melissa Wu, as she competes in the women's 10m platform preliminary round diving competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville (BRITAIN - Tags: OLYMPICS SPORT DIVING)

Photo shows Germany's Ariane Friedrich's tattoo as she competes in the women's high jump qualifying rounds at the athletics event during the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 9, 2012 in London. AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFEFRANCK FIFE/AFP/GettyImages

A tattoo of a Bible verse is seen on the hands of Brady Ellison of the U.S. as he prepares to take aim during the men's archery team quaterfinals at the Lords Cricket Ground during the London 2012 Olympics Games July 28, 2012.

The tattoo of a butterfly is seen on the ankle of Italy's Vanessa Ferrari as she performs on the beam during training at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 26, 2012, in London.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 30: The tattoo of Pedro Cunha of Brazil is seen during the Men's Beach Volleyball Preliminary match between Brazil and Great Britain on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Horse Guards Parade on July 30, 2012 in London, England.

U.S. swimmer Dana Vollmer sports a tattoo of the Olympic rings during a practice session at the Aquatics Center at Olympic park ahead of the the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 26, 2012, in London.

Marcus Browne (R) of the USA and the tattooed Damien Hooper (L) of Australia mix it up during their first round Light-heavyweight (81kg) match of the London 2012 Olymipic Games on July 30, 2012 at the Excel Arena in London. Hooper was awarded a 13-11 points decision.

A picture shows the tattoo on Italy's Federica Pellegrini's ankle as she stands on the starting platform at the start of the women's 200m freestyle heats swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Park in London on July 30, 2012.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 28: A tattoo of the Olympic rings is seen on the arm of Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello of Italy after his victory over Jonas Matheus of Namibia on Day 1 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on July 28, 2012 in London, England.

A star-shaped tattoo is seen on the left leg of Brazil's leftwing Fernanda Silva Rocha during the women's preliminaries Group A handball match Croatia vs Brazil for the London 2012 Olympics Games on July 28, 2012 at the Copper Box hall in London. Brazil won 24-23.

An Olympic rings tattoo of Khatuna Lorig of the U.S. is seen during the women's archery individual ranking round of the London 2012 Olympics Games at the Lords Cricket Ground in London July 27, 2012.

A tattoo of the Beijing 2008 logo is sported on the back of Tamas Varga of Hungary as his team plays against Serbia in a preliminary water polo match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 29, 2012, in London. Serbia won 14-10.

A tattoo showing two feet and reading \"Champion\" is seen on the chest of Mongolia's Tsagaanbaatar Khashbaatar while he competes with Taiwan's Kai-Wen Tu during their men's -66kg contest match of the judo event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 29, 2012 at the ExCel arena in London.

A detail of the tattoo and back of Eric Shanteau as he competes in the second semifinal heat of the Men's 200 m Breaststroke during Day Four of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials at CenturyLink Center on June 28, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska.

A detail of a tattoo of an archer on the lower leg of Natalia Valeeva of Italy during competition in the women's individual ranking round held at the Olympic Green Archery Field during Day 1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 9, 2008 in Beijing, China.

A detail of the Olympic rings tattoo of Marie-Pier Beaudet of Canada during competition in the women's individual archery ranking round held at the Olympic Green Archery Field during Day 1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 9, 2008 in Beijing, China.

A detailed shot of the back tattoo of Louis Smith of Great Britain after he won the bronze medal in the individual men's pommel horse final in the artistic gymnastics event held in National Indoor Stadium on Day 9 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 17, 2008 in Beijing, China. Smith won the bronze medal.

Canada's Joseph Bartoch, bearing tattoos of the Olympic rings and the Canadian mapple leaf, waits prior to compete in the heats of the men's 100-metre butterfly swimming event in the FINA World Championships at the indoor stadium of the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on July 29, 2011.

A detail of a tattoo on the back of boxer Rau'shee Warren poses for a portrait during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summitt at the Palmer House Hilton on April 14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.