Romain Mesnil, French Pole Vaulter, Runs Naked Through Paris (VIDEO)

Desperate times can call for desperate measures, and sometimes these measures include running naked through the streets of Paris. Romain Mesnil, a French pole vaulting champion, did just this in hopes of drawing attention to his need for a new sponsorship deal, having seen his contract with Nike expire last year.

From Reuters' report:

Romain Mesnil, who won a silver medal at the 2007 Athletics World Championships in Osaka, used to be sponsored by U.S. sports brand Nike (NKE.N) but says his contract expired last year and was not renewed.

"It was probably for budgetary and strategic reasons. It's the crisis," he wrote on his website.

Best of all, he videotaped his naked dash through the City of Lights and posted it on his website (sorry fans of full nudity, a black square was added to the video to cover his private parts.) Mesnil's stunt has even been something of a success, Reuters says:

The video has succeeded in drawing attention to Mesnil's plight, at least in France. It was broadcast on primetime state television news bulletins.