Leyna Bloom makes Sports Illustrated history - NEWS.com.au

This years Sports Illustrated looks very different as its pages are filled with an array of “exceptional women” – including a first cover star.

Leyna Bloom is Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s first transgender cover star.

Leyna Bloom has made Sports Illustrated Swimsuit history after becoming the first ever trans woman to appear in the issue and on the cover of the popular magazine.

“When they told me I got the cover, I spoke to my dad,” Leyna told Page Six.

Leyna Bloom is Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s first transgender cover star.

A post shared by Leyna Bloom (@leynabloom).

“It was not easy and we approached the situation very seriously,” Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s longtime editor MJ Day told The Post of producing the issue during the pandemic, adding that photography teams quarantined and followed CDC guidelines.

A post shared by Leyna Bloom (@leynabloom).

A post shared by Camille Kostek (@camillekostek).

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Christen Harper walks for the 2021 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show.

Emily DiDonato, 30, is back for her sixth swimsuit issue.

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This will be Rawlins’ first time modelling for Sports Illustrated, something that came as a shock when she learned she’d been booked.

“I had no idea I was even on SI’s radar,” she told The Post earlier this year.

A post shared by Maggie (@maggierawlins).

Natalie Mariduena walking in Miami Beach at Sports Illustrated’s fashion show on July 10.

Herrington, 28, rocked the swimsuit issue in 2018 as the third black woman to ever appear on the cover.

A post shared by Danielle Herrington (@danielle_herrington_).

Jasmine Sanders walking in Miami Beach at Sports Illustrated’s fashion show July 10.

The former senior communications analyst, who has worked in the defence and aerospace industry, abruptly quit her job after securing a spot in the 2020 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search.

After stunning in last year’s swimsuit issue, this Danish model is back after being voted 2020’s Rookie of the Year.

A post shared by Josephine Skriver (@josephineskriver).

One of 2020’s three cover stars, she’s appearing in the pages of SI’s swimsuit issue for the ninth year in a row.

“I feel beyond lucky that Sports Illustrated was able to figure out a way to allow us to shoot safely during such a tough time,” she said

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Kathy Jacobs walking in Miami Beach at Sports Illustrated’s fashion show

Katrina Scott walking in Miami Beach at Sports Illustrated’s fashion show

This year marks her fourth appearance in the swimsuit issue

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