Swimsuit

8 of Olympian Leryn Franco’s Best SI Swimsuit Photos

The now retired athlete posed for the 2011 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Cara O’Bleness

Leryn Franco

Leryn Franco was photographed by Stephan Wurth in Canada.

Former track and field athlete Leryn Franco is a three-time Olympic athlete, having competed in the javelin event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the ’08 event in Beijing and the ’12 games in London. She retired from her sport three years after she posed for SI Swimsuit.

In addition to being an athlete, Franco has worked as both an actress and model for many years. She was named the first runner-up in the Miss Universo competition in her native Paraguay in 2006.

When she was featured in the SI Swimsuit Issue in 2011, Franco traveled to Banff, Canada, where she was photographed in the great outdoors by Stephan Wurth. Franco described both the scenery of her photo shoot and the swimsuits themselves as “beautiful” and “wonderful.”

“My favorite picture was today, it was my first time [I posed] topless,” Franco said of embracing her stripped-down feature. “[It was] so natural and the light was beautiful.”

Franco noted that the water was cold in photos that required her to wade in the icy depths, but they were worth it thanks to the enthusiasm of the SI Swimsuit team members on location with her.

“I’m really happy for this opportunity to be a part of shooting for Sports Illustrated,” she gushed.

Today, Franco continues to model and is a brand ambassador for a perfume company. She is also the proud owner of Tulip Paisajismo, a residential and corporate landscaping business.

Below are eight of our favorite images from Franco’s photo shoot in Canada.

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Cara O’Bleness
CARA O’BLENESS

Cara O’Bleness is a writer and editor on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Prior to joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, O’Bleness loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism.

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