Former Sportsperson of the Year Megan Rapinoe Is Fierce As Ever in These 8 Photos From St. Lucia

The professional soccer player was featured in the 2019 SI Swimsuit Issue.
Megan Rapinoe was photographed by Ben Watts in St. Lucia.

Megan Rapinoe was photographed by Ben Watts in St. Lucia.


Megan Rapinoe made her historic SI Swimsuit debut in 2019, the same year she led the U.S. Women’s National Team to a World Cup championship and was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year.

The 37-year-old was photographed by Ben Watts in St. Lucia for her feature and became the first openly gay woman to model for the magazine.

“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 while on location in St. Lucia. “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.”

Olympic gold medalist Rapinoe is engaged to retired WNBA star Sue Bird. Rapinoe is currently in her 11th season with NWSL team OL Reign.

Below are eight of our favorite photos from her SI Swimsuit photo shoot in 2019.

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Published
Ananya Panchal

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast.