Jordan Chiles’ first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover is about self-expression

Two-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles reaches rookie status with her first-ever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover.

Jordan Chiles has just reached another milestone. She’s officially a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue rookie. 

On Tuesday, May 13, the annual swimsuit edition dropped with the 24-year-old gold medalist gymnast among this year’s crop of cover stars. For the cover, the 2-time Olympic medalist poses on beach rocks in The Boca Raton with a confident smirk in a brown strappy swimsuit. 

“Grateful for it all,” she wrote in the comments of the magazine’s post announcing the cover on Instagram. 

In another shot, she appears jumping in the air while wearing a turquoise one-piece. Meanwhile, another image features the gymnast in a gold lamé bikini in the sand. 

Chiles told Sports Illustrated the “biggest thing” she wants people to take away from the shoot is how she’s exercising the freedom to express herself. 

“My body is my body,” she said. “I have the ability to express it in millions of different ways, and people are going to accept that.” She added,“It’s really cool just being able to finally embrace my beauty in the way I can, so hopefully people can see the beauty inside of me and that they understand that this is a dream come true for me.”

Chiles joins actress Salma Hayek, model Lauren Chan, and artistic gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne for this year’s edition. While discussing the honor in People magazine she elaborated further on how she was able to embrace her beauty. 

“I’ve embraced every single aspect of who I am and I’ve embraced the amazing body that I have,” she told the outlet. 

She added that growing up, she suffered from bullies and peers teasing her based on her looks. Chiles has also been open over the years about her struggles with confidence and self-image amid the pressures of being a Black woman in a very white sport. 

“I would cry and be like, ‘Mom, they’re saying this. They’re saying that.’ Or I would look at myself in the mirror and call myself ugly almost every day,” she continued. “I think it was just really cool for her to know that I get this opportunity and that I get the ability to embrace who Jordan is.”