Courtesy of McKayla Maroney/Instagram
A perfect 10! McKayla Maroney won the hearts of Americans at the age of 16 as part of the “Fierce Five” U.S. women’s gymnastics team that took home gold at the 2012 London Olympics. Ten years later, she’s all grown up and proud of her incredible bikini body.
After winning the silver medal in her showcase event in London, the vault, despite being the favorite to win, McKayla became an instant GIF with her infamous “not impressed” expression on the podium. She moved her mouth to the side in frustration at taking second place, and her priceless look has lived on thanks to social media ever since.
McKayla went on to defend her vaulting gold in the 2013 World Championships, becoming the first U.S. woman to do so in that competition. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 2016 after suffering several injuries.
The athlete has previously addressed how her physical appearance had become different by the year of her retirement from how she looked at the London games. After retiring, McKayla went on to pursue a brief career in music, followed by her interest in makeup and beauty products.
“I totally understand why people are upset about me ‘changing.’ I get it. But if I can promise you one thing, it’s that I will never stop changing,” she wrote in a 2016 Instagram post after the athlete became the subject of plastic surgery rumors online.
“Life is all about growing, evolving, and becoming more and more yourself, and these last couple years I’ve done nothing but that! I’ve finally gotten myself to the point where I know who I am and what I want out life,” she continued.
“You can either love me or hate me for that. Either way, I love you and wish you the best. Because to me a real role model is someone who has the courage to be exactly who they are no matter what anyone else thinks,” McKayla wrote, adding, “and if I can inspire one person to live like that, then I’ve done my job on this planet,” with the hashtag “keep smiling.”
The former Olympic darling now has a partnership with Miage Skincare, where she launched her Bloom lip gloss on April 17, 2022. “It’s the best tasting lip gloss in the game. It tastes like those thin mint Girl Scout cookies, mixed with the warmest vanilla. I dare you to get it,” McKayla told fans when announcing the product, where she happened to be modeling a bright pink bikini in the selfie!
Scroll down to see McKayla’s best bikini photos.
Courtesy of McKayla Maroney/Instagram
Theretired athlete showed off her favorite lip gloss that matched her pink bikini in an April 2022 selfie.
Courtesy of McKayla Maroney/Instagram
McKayla chilled out in a hot tub on October 1, 2021. Hot pink must be her favorite color, as she donned a different style bikini in the shade.
Courtesy of McKayla Maroney/Instagram
The retired gymnast sported a cute blue bikini and sun visor as she wished fans a “Happy Fourth of July” in 2021, noting that she only had water in her blue solo cup.
Courtesy of McKayla Maroney/Instagram
The Olympic gold medalist worked on bronzing her skin while wearing a sizzling blue print bikini in August 2020. What a beauty!
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