Just days after the actress Sydney Sweeney’s exquisitely sumptuous body appeared unclothed and juggling various balls in advertisements for the sports betting company Novig, the Olympic sisterhood is up in arms, outraged and claiming she is belittling their achievements.

British sprinter Amy Hunt, she of the record four gold medals at the European Championships in Birmingham last month, was first out of the blocks using her televised post-race interview at another event this week to declare: ‘It was incredible to be part of such an incredible race. Sydney Sweeney, this is what women’s sport looks like.

‘Obviously we’ve seen in the last 24 hours everything about the Sydney Sweeney ad, you know, and when you’re a woman in sport, it’s not pretty. It’s not glamorous. It’s not [sexual] all the time, definitely.’

Oh dear, was Amy a bit out of sorts after being upstaged by the actress? Was she smarting after coming fourth in the 200m at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest on Sunday? Was she furious that Sydney’s Novig ad went viral with 37million Insta hits in just four days?

Whatever, her response was bewildering because at no point during the one-minute ad does Sydney pretend to be a sportswoman. The closest she gets to imitating sporting prowess is using a tennis racquet to teasingly cover herself – and hiding her bosoms behind a couple of rugby balls.

Yes she’s unclothed, yes she’s mucking about with a football, a basketball, a tennis ball, even a snooker ball – but the only sport she’s having is enjoying a good laugh at the men who waste their money on betting apps.

Why on earth is the athletic sisterhood so bothered? It simply couldn’t resist a pile-on could it, with the Aussie Olympian swimmer Ariarne Titmus incandescent and saying of the ad: ‘I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this.

‘Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity.’

How very pious.

It’s as if these female athletes occupy some high moral ground that actresses like Sydney shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near. There is a horrible stench of snobbery around their reactions. And dare I say a hint of pure jealousy, even misogyny?

They may have honed their athletic skills for years, but they need to work on their sense of humour and respect for other successful women.

Sydney has worked her guts out for her career, starting acting at the age of 11. This girl from a very working-class background deserves other women’s admiration rather than their scorn, for she’s at the top of her game aged 29, and one of the most sought-after and highest-paid actresses in the world, having appeared in hit TV shows Euphoria and The White Lotus and several films.

She’s also a sassy, skilled businesswoman who’s so sure in herself she’s happy to court controversy. Remember that American Eagle jeans campaign last year when she appeared provocatively dressed in denim as a male voice intoned: ‘Sydney Sweeney has great jeans’?

The sisterhood went into meltdown, reached for the smelling salts and, somewhat risibly, accused the actress of promoting eugenics. Yet American Eagle’s sales soared.

Now she’s at it again, proving her commercial worth, weathering the backlash and watching the money roll in. It so happens Sydney is an equity partner in Novig.

We should all salute her – and for what it’s worth, as I wrote in my Mail column last Saturday after the ad appeared, I think she looks sensational.

Isn’t all this outrage an insult not just to Sydney but all working women? Isn’t the feminist mantra ‘a woman’s right to choose’?

Of course, Sydney hasn’t taken any of this lying down – well, actually, she is lying down in a couple of the shots – and has hit back by posting pictures online of famous sportswomen including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki posing semi-unclothed for promo pictures.

A short Google search and you’ll find many more. Crikey, several Olympic athletes have their own accounts such is their modesty! Four German Olympic female stars all posed together in the nuddy for the cover of their country’s edition of Playboy.

And I haven’t even mentioned the overtly sexual ‘sportswear‘ of the Olympic beach volleyball teams.

The good news for Sydney, as she bats off this attack on her character with such panache, is that the controversy has turned Novig, hitherto an unknown brand, into a household name.

Forget all the gold medals – she’s the real winner in this storm in a 32DD cup. And I hope she’s laughing all the way to the bank.