Lindsey Vonn barely keeps it on for SI swimsuit issue

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: February 10, 2010 - 1:01 AM

Print this story

poll: What do you think of Lindsey Vonn posing in SI's swimsuit issue?

More from Olympics

Minnesota skiing sensation Lindsey Vonn is among a quartet of Olympic athletes featured in this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue that is out today in print and online.

Vonn's online photo gallery includes dozens of provocative bikini shots taken indoors and out in Whistler, host to the skiing competition starting this week for the Vancouver Games.

In an SI online video that accompanies the gallery, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Burnsville native said she enjoyed the opportunity to be in Sports Illustrated "without my helmet and my ski clothes."

The 25-year-old said her favorite shot was when the helicopter was coming over the peak behind her, calling it a traditional mountain-hiking scene, "except that I was in my swimsuit."

Dubbed by SI as "America's best woman skier ever," Vonn is joined in the swimsuit issue by fellow U.S. Olympians snowboarder Hannah Teter, aerial skier Lacy Schnoor and snowboarder Clair Bidez.

Speaking with SI.com's Tim Layden about the July photo shoot, Vonn said that when the photos were taken "I was really strong and fit, and the leanest I've been in a long time."

While experiencing a lifetime of winter conditions, she added that the high-altitude bikini snow romp "was a new level of cold" for her.

Vonn is just coming off being on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Olympic edition in a downhill pose that some critics branded as sexualized because of the altitude of her posterior.

Landing the coveted swimsuit cover spot is supermodel Brooklyn Decker, the 22-year-old wife of tennis star Andy Roddick.

This is the first year that SI has gone multimedia with the popular wintertime escape issue. There are more than 1,400 photos and 100 videos of the models taken during shoots spanning six countries.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

Recent Olympics stories

Skips wear emotional scars of their struggling teams - February 10, 2010

Skips wear emotional scars of their struggling teams - Pain was visible on Debbie McCormick's face after a two-match rally ended with a loss to Canada. More