It Figures is Yahoo Life’s physique picture sequence, delving into the journeys of influential and provoking figures as they discover what physique confidence, physique neutrality and self-love imply to them.
Lindsey Vonn has proved to be a champion of her sport after turning into probably the most adorned American skier of all time earlier than her 2019 retirement. Now, she’s opening up concerning the challenges which have include that title, sharing tales about her psychological and bodily well being in her newest memoir, Rise: My Story.
While the highlights of Vonn’s profession have been what put her on the map, the 37-year-old explains that her struggles are in the end what constructed her into the athlete that she is. And regardless of what folks may assume about her expertise, Vonn says that she labored time beyond regulation to realize success.
“When I was a kid, I really didn’t realize what role my body played in my success on the slopes. Most people assume that Olympic athletes are just naturally so … they’re ripped and it’s like so easy for them, and it’s definitely not the case for me,” she says. “I spent so much time trying to be in the best shape possible and it would take me twice as long as everyone else to be at the same place. I kind of became a gym rat and it helped my career in so many ways.”
Early on in her profession, Vonn solely considered her physique “as a tool to succeed” and targeted on her skill within the health club and on the slopes moderately than her look. As she turned higher identified for her sport and a star in her personal proper, her emotions about her physique started to shift.
“In my skiing, I thrived on people saying negative things about me because it always pushed me. But then when I became more well-known, that’s when I started to really question the way I look and that’s when my self-confidence off the slopes plummeted,” she explains. “When I won the Olympics, I started to do a lot more press and going to red carpet events and noticing that I really didn’t look like anyone else I was around, and I was quite a bit heavier. It did really mess with my mind for a long time.”
While being within the highlight challenged Vonn’s physique picture in new methods, she selected to not battle in silence, however as a substitute to open up concerning the ways in which she felt unfairly judged by her physique. She even used her platform as a revered athlete to confront the stress that ladies have confronted to look a sure means, encouraging folks to alter their mindset round well being and wellness in her first e-book, Strong Is the New Beautiful. Vonn has since continued to share her unfiltered ideas on the tradition of physique shaming and the way she’s chosen to retaliate with body-positive messaging.
“There is a certain level of judgment that goes into women who are athletes and it’s like no one judges men in the same way,” she explains. “It just got to the point where I was so frustrated with the judgment. Social media is all filters and it’s all fake and I just wanted to be authentically myself.”
Through the journey of totally embracing her physique, Vonn has additionally discovered it essential to acknowledge how she’s taken benefit of her talents by bringing herself to her breaking level.
“I think a lot of times in my career, I didn’t realize I had pushed myself too far until I was already too late. Since my first major surgery in 2013, I didn’t have a 12-month period where I didn’t have surgery or a major injury until I retired,” she says. “By the end, I was like, OK, it’s time to say enough is enough.”
Ultimately, she hopes that sharing the low moments that existed concurrently along with her highest highs will paint a real image of her resilience and what self-love appears to be like wish to her.
“There’s always a moment after I get injured where I’m really emotional and I’m crying but I never was resentful because I always learned something from it,” she says. “People always try to think that athletes are these super humans that don’t have weakness, but we do. We are human and we do fall apart, and I think it’s how we put ourselves back together that’s the real hero in us. We don’t stay down, we always get back up.”
– Video produced by Kat Vasquez
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