Caitlyn Jenner has appeared on the July cover of Sports Illustrated, wearing her 1976 Olympic gold medal for the first time in 40 years.
The 66-year-old reality star features in the summer issue’s cover story by Tim Layden, the story celebrates the anniversary of her Olympic win, and examines how the medal launched Cait on her journey to fame and gave her a platform to express her views.
Caitlyn’s feelings about her past sports career as Bruce Jenner are pretty complex, as sports gave her a way to cope with her gender dysmorphia.
“The decathlon was the perfect distraction,” she said in her interview with Tim.
EXCLUSIVE: @Caitlyn_Jenner revisits the 1976 Olympics in this week’s cover story https://t.co/Pn3CNbMjhR pic.twitter.com/7kj341lWNF
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 28, 2016
The medal remained hidden away for years in Cait’s makeup “nail drawer” before she pulled it out to wear for the Sports Illustrated cover.
However, her athletic past is still a part of her identity, “I’m very proud of that part of my life. And it’s not like I just want to throw it out. It’s part of who I am,” she said.
Caitlyn’s advocacy for transgender rights has made her a controversial public figure, even amongst the LGBTQ community as Caitlyn’s sometimes conservative political views have caused uproar.
Reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians has kept her in the public eye, as well as her own show, I Am Cait.
The cover of Sports Illustrated was designed to make several statements, according to the article: to celebrate the anniversary of Caitlyn’s Olympic victory, to thank the U.S. for it’s tolerance, but it also calls for more transgender tolerance in the country.
