Athletes Bare all for ESPN Body Issue

It is officially that time of year again, for the sixth year, ESPN has chosen athletes in various sports for its annual ESPN BODY magazine edition. The body issue of ESPN magazine is not to be seen in a negative way but to show that athletic excellence can come in all shapes and sizes. This year, ESPN has made the list longer by adding multiple athletes in sports to accommodate everyone’s favorite sport. The Body edition will cover twenty-two athletes with majority of the athletes gracing the cover for the very first time, and twice for the five- time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and 18- time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.

The list starts with Tennis star Venus Williams, as stated above, is apart of the body edition for a second time. Williams is a 34 years old five-wimbledon champion and seven-time grand slam winner. At the stature of 6’1 160 pounds, she talks about her training techniques, and how she has to change her ways of training now:

“ In the past, I would train until I died. Now I have to be careful. If I train to hard , then I won’t be able to do anything the next day.” Says Williams

Arizona Cardinals, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is the next athlete to be apart of the body issue at the age of 30. Fitzgerald explains how the game of football is mainly a mental game inside the issue:

“ A lot of football is mental. The guy across from you probably went to a big Division 1 school just like you did, was drafted in the first round just like you were. What separates you is being able to dig deep when you are tired, when its’s hot, when you are hurt.”   

Coco Ho is a 23 year old surfer, known for her win in the 2013 ASP Heat of the Year winner. Ho says that her job might look glamorous being out on the water and catching the waves, and she says it is as cool as it looks:

”You get to surf however you want to…It’s all about opening up my turns and making my movements more powerful.” She also explains how social media and body image has changed surfing. “Since social media has become so big, body image has taken a downward spiral. After a competition, people online will just be talking about who looked better instead of who surfed better. It’s not even about the results anymore.”    

26 year old BMX rider Nigel Sylvester says that:

“My body is a direct reflection of what my bike has given me over the years.” Giving the reason of why he chose to do the ESPN body edition.

Megan Rapinoe is a 29 year old American soccer midfielder and Olympic gold medalist who plays for Seattle Reign FC.

Married X-Games couple Travis and Lyn-Z Pastrana. The rally cross racer and pro skateboarder open up about slowing down because of injuries and taking time off after having children. 

Serge Ibaka NBA star for Oklahoma City Thunder will also take part in the fun . The 6-10, 245 pound forward/center tells ESPN and fans how much he loves his body and how he wishes he had more body parts to workout so he could workout all the time.

Texas Rangers, first baseman Prince Fielder, shows that athleticism can come in all shapes and sizes. Fielder the 5-11, 275 pounds baseman says:

“You don’t have to look like an Under Armour mannequin to be an athlete. People probably think I don’t even try to work out, but I do. Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you can’t be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn’t mean you’re going to have a 12-pack.”

Ginger Huber is a Cliff diver and is known for her second-place finish at the 2013 Red Bull World Series  

WNBA star Angel McCoughtry guard, and forward for the Atlanta Dream, is proud of her skills on the court of how she lets no one get in her way and her 6-1 stature.

“I can get over 10 feet. The crazy part is, I know I can get even higher.”

18-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps is gracing the ESPN Body cover for the second time and not only talks about his return to the pool but the body he was born with.

“I was born this way for a reason. My arms are double-jointed. I have stubby legs… I’m 6-4 and have a 30-inch inseam. But this body has worked in the past, and hopefully it will work again.”

Danyelle Wolf boxer, is the 2014 USA Boxing national champion, and she states,

“Boxing is like a blank canvas for me. I see it very much like my artwork. With painting, it’s what you put into it. So when you’re done, you get to stand back and look at your masterpiece and say, Wow, I did that.”

 

Omar Gonzalez is the defender for the LA Galaxy and U.S. National soccer team. Gonzalez explains,

“People say we’re soft. I beg to differ. Soccer players go to ground a lot, and you get into some bad tackles. If it’s a hard-fought battle, you aren’t walking away unscathed.”

2014 Olympic bronze medalist for bobsledding is 26 year old Aja Evans 

28 year-old Grand slam finalist Tomas Berdych speaks about his inflexibility,

“It’s not so bad that I can’t touch my toes, but I’m not one of the most flexible guys. When you look at Novak Djokovic, you’d think he’s made of rubber.”

Amy Purdy, snowboarder, 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist on losing her legs,

“I have never missed a season of snowboarding. I made it a goal that I wasn’t going to miss that season, whether I lost my legs or not.”

Boxer, Bernard Hopkins is an IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion, the 49 year-old says,

“My screen saver is a mug shot of me in 1984. I look older there than I look now. [Cutting out] the drinking, smoking weed, the hamburgers, cheese fries… That’s it. That’s the answer right there.”

Superbowl champion running back Marshawn Lynch on being the best,

“You never want to be the one who everyone is going to bust jokes on. The only way to prevent that is to be good at something.”

Jamie Anderson 2014 Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding,

“I don’t think I’m your typical rock-hard ripped girl. But that’s what I love and embrace about myself. I feel good, but I always feel like I can be better. That’s what I thrive on.”

U.S. National ice hockey team Hillary Knight on being masculine or feminine,

“I had this idea that muscular isn’t feminine. I gained 15 pounds [for the Olympics] and I still felt feminine at 185 pounds. No one can stop me; it’s this bulldozer effect on the ice. I just jumped right in and took hold of being a proud female athlete.” 

Jimmy Spithill, Oracle Team USA Skipper, Spithill says on being a skipper,

“It’s not athletic? People probably imagine an older rich guy going out to his boat in a blazer for a nice leisurely sail. It’s actually the opposite. The guys now who get off the boat look like linebackers.”

The talk about body compared to men and women, the study can be on, but not limited to, body odor during games and practices, planning pregnancies according to the sport, the ability to have pain medicines available to each sport, having to hide an injury to play in a game, etc. The body issue begun in 2009 in efforts to help the sales of the magazine increase. When debuting in 2009 the Serena Williams cover of all six alternating covers was the best seller. All twenty-two athletes in the 2014 issue all explain why they love the bodies they have, and you can read more about it all when the ESPN Body is at a newsstand near you.