ESPN The Magazine‘s third annual Body Issue is out on newsstands and it features 22 athletes posing nude, with their private bits strategically covered. We love The Body Issue not only because it showcases the physiques of some of the fittest athletes in sports, but also because a few of its subjects have a powerful message: Strong is the new sexy.
As snowboarder and cover girl Gretchen Bleiler told USA Today, "This is not about being sexy but about being strong and powerful and showing girls it’s OK to have muscles. …And that strength and power is beautiful." Amen to that.
In her cover photo (above, one of four created for the issue), Bleiler looks crazy powerful (hello, abs of steel), confident, and, yes, beautiful. Read on to see what Bleiler and two other subjects—soccer goalie Hope Solo and gymnast Alicia Sacramone—have to say about their bodies.
Gretchen Bleiler
Claim to fame: 2006 Olympic silver medalist in the halfpipe, four-time Winter X Games champ
On her body: "Being involved in sports, you think less about how your body looks and more how it performs," Bleiler told espnW.
Hope Solo
Claim to fame: Goalkeeper for the US women’s soccer team that won gold in the 2008 Olympics
On her body: "In 2008, I was maybe the fittest I had ever been, and we won the gold medal. I started to see the connection between my body and my accomplishments," Solo told espnW. "I couldn’t have been a great goalkeeper without power, agility and quickness."
Photo: Luis Sanchis/ESPN The Magazine
Alicia Sacramone
Claim to fame: Captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team; the team earned silver
On her body: "I work out really hard and I’m proud of my body," Sacramone told espnW. "I like that my body is in shape and toned, and isn’t too muscular. I feel I still have a woman’s physique."
Photo: Francesco Carrozzini/ESPN The Magazine
More from WH
Fitness Tips from Gretchen Bleiler
Alicia Sacramone‘s Strength Workout