Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue shines spotlight on Olympians

(Sports Illustrated)

The Olympic-year edition of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has a Summer Games vibe. Five Olympians, including 2008 history-maker Michael Phelps, are featured in the pages of SI's annual issue, which hit newsstands on Valentine's Day.
[Photo gallery: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover revealed]
Fellow swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin also made an appearance, as did basketball player Chris Paul, soccer star Alex Morgan and 2008 Olympic tennis champion Rafael Nadal.

(Sports Illustrated)

Phelps, Paul and Nadal were featured in the "Bar & The Boys" pictorial, which matched up the famed athletes with Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli.

(SI)

Morgan (below) and Coughlin were in a spread that showed female athletes in body paint. The soccer star told SI.com that she was more nervous for her photo shoot than she was for last year's World Cup final against Japan. "I have been playing soccer my entire life," she said. "I know how to stay calm and not get too nervous for games. It was a completely new experience and definitely took some getting used to before I felt comfortable in body paint."
(SI)
For full coverage on the swimsuit issue, check out our numerous Yahoo! Sports Blogs posts on SI's annual bestseller:
Shutdown Corner: Mark Sanchez's rumored girlfriend, Kate Upton, lands SI cover
Dirty Tackle: Alex Morgan poses in body paint
Ball Don't Lie: See Chris Paul and Bar Refaeli on a trampoline (video)
Devil Ball Golf: Natalie Gulbis is in body paint and not much else
Big League Stew: SI cover girl is in new MLB 2k12 commercial (video)
Busted Racquet: Rafael Nadal and Bar Refaeli in SI swimsuit issue
Related video on SI cover girl Kate Upton from the Yahoo! network:

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