Swimmer Rips Suit, Bares Butt to World

The tush push-off.

A true champion, no butts about it.

Spectators at the World swimming championship in Rome got a free booty show this weekend when Olympic gold medalist Ricky Berens split his suit right before a race.

The champion swimmer was just about to step onto the starting block for his leg of the 4X100 relay when he stretched his suit and tore it right up the back.

"I kind of freaked out for just a second," he said. "I felt like [the split] was almost down to my knees. I felt like I was putting on a pretty good show."

Then, after consulting his teammates, Berens realized there was not enough time for a suit change. So he went up there, nudie patootie and all, and swam like a fully-clothed Olympian, helping his American team eventually win the heat.

Of course now he's been the "butt" of jokes all week long, but we don't think it'll hurt his reputation. After all, if he keeps swimming like this, the sport will surely gain a lot more fans.

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