The night belonged to the athletes, the Australian sportswomen who often miss out on their fair share of the limelight.

But there was a distraction at the Women's Health magazine's I Support Women in Sport awards on Monday.

Four models, wearing just underwear and body paint, appeared in sports uniform designs on the same red carpet as the real athletes.

They posed as a swimmer, netballer and gymnast, while a fourth wore a design resembling Cathy Freeman's running suit from the Sydney Olympics 400m final.

Danielle Warby, a board director of the Australian Womensport and Recreation Association, called the models' inclusion "bizarre".