Olympic gymnast and 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star Jordan Chiles made a striking debut at the magazine’s annual runway show on May 31—not only walking the catwalk but revealing a new tattoo in celebration of her milestone.
Wearing a vibrant multicolored bikini by Jean Paul Gaultier, the 24-year-old athlete confidently reached the edge of the runway and gestured toward her hip, unveiling a tattoo of a bikini hanging from a clothesline with the number “25” at the end. The design paid tribute to her appearance on the 2025 SI Swimsuit cover.
“All of my tattoos have meaning to them, so this one I’m gonna debut on the runway,” Chiles said in a behind-the-scenes TikTok video during her Miami trip.
Chiles, a two-time Olympian and current collegiate gymnast, graced the magazine’s cover alongside Salma Hayek Pinault, Lauren Chan, and Olivia Dunne. In her cover story, she recalled envisioning this moment years earlier.
“I manifested this,” she said. “Three years ago I was on a girls’ trip in Hawaii pretending I was doing a Sports Illustrated shoot. I literally said, ‘One day, I’m going to be an SI model.’”
SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day called Chiles a fitting symbol for the brand, highlighting her emotional and physical resilience.
“Resilience is [Chiles’s] trademark, and it’s why she stands as a symbol of strength—not just physical, but emotional,” Day wrote in the 2025 Editor’s Letter. “Jordan is showing us all that perseverance and joy can coexist in powerful ways.”
Just weeks before the issue’s release, Chiles competed at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics National Championships, further underlining her determination. After the cover was revealed, she reflected on her personal journey in a heartfelt Instagram post on May 14.
“If you only knew how long it took me to appreciate my beauty. The number of times I told myself and heard negative things,” she wrote. “These muscles have allowed me to accomplish so much! And now That Girl is a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model!!!”
Chiles also emphasized how the experience allowed her to explore new dimensions of her identity beyond gymnastics.
“It allowed me to experience a different side of myself,” she said. “I was able to embrace my beauty and just be fully myself.”
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