Swimsuit

Social Media Reacts to Suni Lee’s SI Swimsuit Debut: ‘Perfect Choice’

The 21-year-old Olympic gymnast is generating a lot of buzz on social media.

Natalie Zamora

Suni Lee at the 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards held at the American Museum of Natural History on October 28, 2024 in New York, New York
Suni Lee at the 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards held at the American Museum of Natural History on October 28, 2024 in New York, New York / Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

We’ve officially kicked off shoot season for the SI Swimsuit 2025 issue, and we’re welcoming a list of incredible athletes to our pages. Though we won’t be seeing the magazine until May, we’ve been blessed with behind-the-scenes looks and one full look reveal per model as they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to be photographed by Ben Horton. All of the athletes so far have been generating buzz across social media since making their debuts on our site and Instagram page, and we couldn't be more excited to include these trailblazers in our next issue.

One of the very impressive athletes making her SI Swimsuit debut is 21-year-old gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who also competed in the NCAA Gymnastics for the Auburn Tigers. Named one of TIME's most influential people in the world for their 2021 list and Sports Illustrated's Female Athlete of the Year in 2021, Lee is a force to be reckoned with, with a remarkable career at a young age.

Clearly, we're huge fans of Lee here at SI Swimsuit, but we're not the only ones. With the announcement that the Minnesota native would be joining the brand, fans, friends and fellow SI Swimsuit models flocked to our comments section to share their excitement over the news.

“SO GOOD!🤌🏼✨,” Olivia Dunne, LSU gymnast and two-time SI Swimsuit model commented.

“YAAASSSSSSSSSS!!!! Welcome to the fam queen @sunisalee🩷,” Kamie Crawford, TV host and three-time SI Swimsuit model added.

“Perfect choice 😍🔥,” a fan and fellow gymnast wrote—and we couldn’t agree more.

Suni Lee was photographed by SI Staff in Boca Raton, Fla. Swimsuit by St. Agni.
Suni Lee was photographed by SI Staff in Boca Raton, Fla. Swimsuit by St. Agni. / SI Staff

Another fan added, “oh this is insane!😍😍,” with an additional user commenting, “🙌🙌❤️❤️so awesome!! Congratulations 🎉.” And the conversation didn’t end on Instagram. Over on X (formerly known as Twitter), fans shared the SI Swimsuit coverage and reacted with complimentary replies as well as funny memes:

When the SI Swimsuit Instagram page shared a fun video of Lee from her shoot day, commenters couldn’t wait to react.

“Suni is going to help make 2025's issue the best one yet. 😍,” one fan wrote.

“Suni is so fresh ✨,” a second commented.

A third added: “Let’s goooooo! Gorgeous Sunisa 😍🔥 Repping’ in the gym and everywhere else in life. Such an inspiration!”

Clearly, both fans and peers are thrilled to see Lee collaborate with the SI Swimsuit brand, which celebrates and champions talented women like herself. If you thought the first look was good, just wait until the additional photos come out. We’re positive they’ll be nothing short of perfect!

Go Behind the Scenes on Suni Lee’s SI Swimsuit Debut Shoot. dark. Next. Suni Lee BTS Blog

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Natalie Zamora
NATALIE ZAMORA

Natalie Zamora is a leader in the digital media space who specializes in entertainment and lifestyle topics. After graduating from Rutgers University where she majored in English and minored in Cinema Studies, she currently works as the VP of Entertainment Content, FanSided/SI Swimsuit at Minute Media. In addition to SI Swimsuit, her work can also be found on sites such as Winter is Coming, Mental Floss, and more. With a deep passion for pop culture, Natalie has her finger on the pulse of trending topics and loves to keep up with her favorite celebrities.

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