8 Powerful Photos From Megan Rapinoe’s Shoot in St. Lucia

The activist-athlete was featured in the 2019 Swimsuit Issue alongside fellow soccer players Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper.

Ananya Panchal | Dec 7, 2022

Megan Rapinoe is a trailblazer. In 2019 alone, she appeared in the SI Swimsuit Issue as the franchise’s first openly gay model, led the U.S. women’s national soccer team to its second consecutive World Cup championship and was named SI’s Sportsperson of the Year for “playing the world’s game, on the world’s stage, under attack by a world leader” and “dominating without fear.”

She knew that her involvement with SI Swimsuit would have an impact and hopefully pave the way for future queer models.

“I think it’s really quite a bold statement by Sports Illustrated to be honest because it has been seen as sort of this magazine only for heterosexual males,” Rapinoe said. “I think so often with gay females in sports there’s this particular stereotype about it and there’s such a narrow view of what it means to be gay and be athletic. So, to kind of just blow that up and and do something totally different I think is really important.”

Here’s a look at some of our favorite photos from Rapinoe’s shoot in St. Lucia.