Bare-chested governors

A picture of a bare-chested Gov. Chet Culver entering the water during a Florida triathlon over the weekend has been removed because the event sponsors, State of Mind Sports, Inc., said it had not released the photo for publication.

Following the lead of Iowa's longest-serving governor, Gov. Chet Culver appeared in public shirtless over the weekend.

Like Gov. Terry Branstad, who fished bare-chested in 1996, Culver entered the water leg of a Florida triathlon wearing a swimming cap and trunks.

The aide said Culver, 43, a former college offensive lineman, lost 25 pounds while training for the event.

Culver spokesman Troy Price says the governor trained for the triathlon for about nine weeks and will continue his workout regimen. Price says he'll probably compete in another triathlon, a multi-sport endurance event in which participants swim, bicycle and run.

Branstad, who's angling to resume his reign as governor, appeared sans shirt in the summer of 1996 at a Mississippi River bass fishing tournament near Marquette. Branstad, then 49, “seemed as pleased to shed the trappings of office as he did to shed his shirt on a sun-warmed afternoon in which temperatures reached the mid-80s,” according to a Gazette report.