Lindsey Vonn Flaunted Her Self-Confidence on SI Swimsuit Set in This Surprising Way

The athlete was happy to show off the scars from her history-making professional skiing career.

Lindsey Vonn was photographed by Walter Chin in Puerto Vallarta. / Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

When Lindsey Vonn posed for her third SI Swimsuit feature in 2019, she had come to terms with her retirement. The same year that her Puerto Vallarta photo shoot was published in the annual magazine, she had decided to hang up her helmet. After about two decades of professional skiing, she was ready to say goodbye to competition.

It wasn’t a goodbye to skiing, though—far from it. Since making that decision, the athlete has returned to the slopes each season to take her skis for a recreational spin. Though no longer pushing her body in the same way that she used to, Vonn’s retirement hasn’t been surgery-free. Since she stopped competing, the 39-year-old has been dealing with the fallout of years of hard work and grueling conditions. Desiring to stay active for years to come, she’s been forced to confront the knee problems that ultimately led to her retirement.

In April of this year, she underwent knee replacement surgery with the hopes of regaining mobility and comfort. Though a major procedure, it was far from her first (on her knees or otherwise). During her career, Vonn underwent several surgeries to repair damage to her knee and her arm, the latter of which she fractured in a crash in 2017.

Though those injuries were not ideal by any means, Vonn is proud of her scars. She made as much known during her SI Swimsuit photo shoot in Puerto Vallarta. Posing in swimwear on set, several of her scars were on full display. It didn’t matter, though, as Vonn felt “comfortable in [her] own skin.”

“[SI Swimsuit editor in chief MJ Day] asked me if I was comfortable showing my scars in my pictures, and you know honestly I love showing my scars because that’s who I am. That’s the journey that I’ve been down” she explained while on set in Mexico. “I don’t want to cover that up because that’s part of me. I feel like it’s an evolution of my self-confidence, who I am, and being able to express myself in a way that I normally can’t.”

There’s no doubt that Vonn’s scars are a major part of who she is as a person. They are a testament to her incredible career on the slopes, and her determination in the face of setbacks. Without them, she wouldn’t be the history-making athlete that she is today.

Here are some of the stunning photos from her photo shoot—an inspiring show of self-confidence—in Puerto Vallarta.

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated