From grit to glam. Women's Health is celebrating female athletes with its first-ever Olympics issue.
Liz Plosser is the editor-in-chief of Women's Health magazine.
The July-August issue is a global celebration of women's sports and athletes and spans 10 editions of the magazine worldwide.
"We really wanted to focus on women who would share their stories vulnerably, and let us into who they are as human beings, as advocates in their community, as moms as role models. In addition, they're sharing how they train and compete and perform at the top of their game," Liz said.
Women's Health drew on the colors of the Olympic rings for inspiration and then took the women out of the gym and into iconic settings for their photo shoots.
"We put them in a really epic-like superhero environment because they are superheroes to us," Liz said. "We also wanted to show them an action and reflect."
Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin- Levrone (track and field) is on the cover.
Six other athletes are featured in the issue including boxer Jajaira Gonzalez, breaker Sunny Choi, para-triathlete Hailey Danz, water polo goalie Ashleigh Johnson, pentathlete Jess Savner and rugby star Llona Maher.
All the women shared what they're doing to get their bodies and minds ready for the Paris Games. Several expressed the role mental health takes on an athlete's journey and share what makes them mentally tough.
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