Cheerleading doesn't always get the respect it deserves as a bona fide sport and cheap excuse for beautiful women to jump around in tiny skirts.

The forward-thinking organizers of the Beijing Olympics realized pompom pushers were necessary to fill out the festivities. Over the last few months, competitions have been held to find the best dancers and frolickers to keep spectators from thinking too much about human rights violations. (We kid.)

As fans of these gleeful gals, we put together a gallery of pics from their training sessions. Keep an eye out and maybe you'll even see a few of these ladies cheering poolside during the 100-meter backstroke, or at the shooting range during the 100-yard free rifle event. (OK, maybe they should skip that last one.)


Stars and Stripes -- Bikini Babes Go Patriotic

    God bless America,

    Jean-Paul Aussenard, WireImage.com

    Land that I love.

    GQ

    Stand beside her,

    Tim Sloan, AFP / Getty Images

    And guide her,

    Flickr.com

    Through the night,

    Hopper Stone, NBC

    With the light from above.

    Flickr.com

    From the mountains,

    comptonsunshine.com

    To the prairies,

    Flickr.com

    To the oceans,

    Flickr.com

    White with foam.

    Tom Grizzle, Getty Images



Watch video of the girls training after the jump.