2017 BODY Issue Features Nine Covers: Javier Baez, Brent Burns and Joe Thornton, Julian Edelman, Ezekiel Elliott, Kirstie Ennis, Nneka Ogwumike, Isaiah Thomas, Michelle Waterson, and Caroline Wozniacki

The immersive digital experience for ESPN The Magazine’s ninth annual BODY Issue launched today at www.espn.com/bodyissue. Created in celebration of the athletic form, the issue features 23 world-class athletes from the Olympics, NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, tennis, and rugby among other sports around the world from Denmark to New Zealand. Photos, videos, and interviews of the athletes are showcased in the unique new digital gallery experience and the issue hits newsstands Friday, July 7.

Highlighting this year’s theme, “Every Body Has a Story,” the roster features an extensive list of athletes including the issue’s first breast cancer survivor and war veteran. Always iconic for its stunning and ground-breaking photography, BODY 2017 is comprised of 16 photo shoots by 16 different photographers. This year, Javier Baez was featured as the first BODY cover athlete ever to be shot on iPhone, using the iPhone 7 Plus in Portrait mode.

The full list of athletes includes: Julian Edelman, Ezekiel Elliott, Caroline Wozniacki, A.J. Andrews, Javier Baez, Brent Burns and Joe Thornton, Kirstie Ennis, Novlene Williams-Mills, Julie Ertz and Zach Ertz, Malakai Fekitoa, Gus Kenworthy, Nneka Ogwumike, Isaiah Thomas, Ashley Wagner, Michelle Waterson, Brianna Decker, Kacey Bellamy, Meghan Duggan, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Alex Rigsby.

Also in this issue:

• BODY Confidential: The Mag polled 146 of the world’s top athletes across eight professional leagues, and their picks are in: LeBron and Serena boast the best bodies in sports. Here’s the rest of their body of thought: http://es.pn/2tx8w0H
• MLB: Thrown for a Curve: He’s had Tommy John surgery and taken a liner to the head. But for Jameson Taillon, a cancer diagnosis—and the recovery that followed—was his toughest test. By Tim Keown
• NBA: Greg Oden calls himself the biggest bust in NBA history, cursed by the body that once was his blessing. For his second act, he’s seeing how far his mind can take him. By Seth Wickersham
• Research and Humor: It’s Go Time: No one can resist nature’s call, but for athletes, knowing when to let it flow can be the difference between victory and defeat. By David Fleming
• Sports Medicine: Research shows that female athletes are more prone to concussions than males and suffer worse symptoms. So why does it seem like nobody cares? By Peter Keating *In collaboration with espnW and Outside the Lines (Link: http://es.pn/2tgE4GS)

All BODY Issue assets for media can be found in the BODY 2017 Media Kit: http://es.pn/2t0BAwN

-30-