Brenna Huckaby Displays Power and Grace in These 5 Photos

The athlete traded her snowboard for swimwear in the 2018 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Cara O’Bleness | Dec 11, 2023

Brenna Huckaby was photographed by James Macari in Aruba.

James Macari/Sports Illustrated

When three-time Paralympic gold medalist Brenna Huckaby posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue in 2018, she became the first Paralympian to be featured in the annual magazine. The 27-year-old mom of two was photographed by James Macari in Aruba for her brand feature.

“It’s so exciting and crazy and amazing,” Huckaby said of her SI Swimsuit Issue photoshoot while on location in the tropics. “I am the first Paralympian to be shot for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, and that is insane to me. I knew this day would come, but I didn’t think that I would be the one to make this day happen.”

After Huckaby had her right leg amputated above the knee at 14 due to osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, she used snowboarding as a form of her post-surgery rehabilitation exercises. Prior to then, she was an avid gymnast.

About eight years later, the opportunity to pose for the SI Swimsuit Issue came around. Huckaby shared her thoughts on the major moment on Instagram last fall.

“I’m reflecting today as a reminder that it only takes one person to open the door but it takes many people to follow through it,” she wrote. “Thank you to all the disabled baddies (men and women) who have walked, ran, rolled through open doors. Who continue to fight for inclusion in their respected industries, and who continue to show me and everyone else what’s possible.”

Below are just a few of our favorite photos of the disability advocate and keynote speaker in Aruba.

Brenna Huckaby — James Macari/Sports Illustrated

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Published Dec 11, 2023

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.