A Lebanese skier that is currently competing in the Sochi Olympics has stirred controversy over a topless picture that was taken over three years ago.

22-year-old Jackie Chamoun posed topless for an Austrian sports calendar, in 2011, at Lebanon’s Faraya ski resort, along with other professional athletes.

However, it wasn’t until recently that the photos and a video surfaced, causing a stir in her hometown. The footage shows a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot, and images that Chamoun said were never supposed to be seen by the public.

After realizing the severity of the situation, Chamoun took to her personal Facebook page to address the issue.

I just want to make it clear to everyone who commented, shared the photos that appeared on the net in Lebanon yesterday. Yes I did photos for an Austrian ski calendar with other professional athletes 3 years ago. The photos of the photoshoot are not like the actual images that are now circulating on the net.

The video and photos that you are now seeing are part of the making off, the preparation, it wasn’t supposed to go public. Anyways, I want to apologize to all of you, I know that Lebanon is a conservative country and this is not the image that reflects our culture. I fully understand if you want to criticise this.

Now that I’m at the Olympic Games, these photos that I never saw before are being shared. It is sad. All I can ask to each of you who saw this, is to stop spreading it, it will really help me focusing on what is really important now: my trainings and race.

Although she is being publicly scrutinized for something she did as a teenager, it will not affect her participating in the games. Faisal Karami, the Youth and Sports Minister, informed the Lebanese Olympic Committee “to carry out the necessary investigation in a way that does not affect Lebanon’s reputation.”

“My main concern was not to affect Lebanon’s participation in the Sochi Olympics,” Karami explained to CNN. “The Lebanese Olympic Committee held a meeting and concluded that this will not affect Lebanon’s participation in Sochi, and that the matter according to the International Olympic Committee, is a matter of personal freedoms.”

What do you think about the criticism that Jackie Chamoun is receiving? Leave your comments below.

Image via Facebook