The 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is set to hit newsstands next May, but its stars are already being revealed daily on social media. This season, the magazine has decided to showcase a lineup of athletes to highlight and empower the image of strong, inspiring women in sports.
“We are thrilled to launch our shoot season for the 2025 issue with an extraordinary lineup of powerful female athletes,” MJ Day, SI Swimsuit editor in chief shared. “This remarkable group, featuring Olympic medalists, world champions, and record holders, embodies the next generation of all-stars poised to transform the world of sports. They defy stereotypes and champion equality, inspiring young girls to envision themselves as both athletes and leaders.”
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Cameron Brink in Sports Illustrated
(Photo: Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated, https://www.instagram.com/benhortonphoto)
The latest addition to the roster is 22-year-old WNBA star Cameron Brink, who shared a photo on Instagram featuring herself in a white bikini that shows off her toned abs. Brink's photoshoot for Sports Illustrated follows her May campaign for Kim Kardashian's lingerie brand Skims and her invitation to sit front row at Balenciaga’s fashion show in Paris.
“Known for her undeniable skill and towering presence on the court, the 22-year-old brings her fierce energy along with several other trailblazing, young elite female athletes. Brink is not only dominating the court but also redefining the intersection of fashion and sports with her sleek, standout pre-game tunnel looks,” the magazine read.
The choice to feature female athletes in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue marks an important move that will likely inspire many young girls and women, who often hesitate to enter professional sports due to stereotypes and prejudices. This new issue is part of a broader trend of representing women from the sports world in campaigns from which athletic-bodied individuals were often previously excluded.
The reactions to the magazine’s athlete shots have been mostly positive, with the exception of a pointed comment about jawlines posted alongside a photo of Paralympic swimmer Ellie Truwit, who recently returned from the Paralympic Games in Paris with two silver medals — one in the 400-meter freestyle and another in the 100-meter backstroke.
Truwit, 24, was a competitive swimmer in the college league representing Yale University. Last year, however, she was attacked by a shark while in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and lost her leg.
Among the other featured athletes in photographer Ben Horton's shots are Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee, gold-medal sprinter Gabby Thomas, Olympic champion Eileen Gu, golfer Nelly Korda and others.
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