Olympian Lindsey Vonn Says Women Should Be Strong, Not Skinny

Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn has a message: Women should be strong, not skinny. She joins us.

World champion downhill skier Lindsey Vonn is an incredible athlete. Fearless, powerful, and very, very often, victorious. On the slope she is known for pushing all the limits. Off the slope, for her very open body-image issues. For her time with Tiger Woods. Now, Lindsey Vonn is looking at what makes beauty. She says it's strength. A new definition. This hour On Point, downhill skiing champ Lindsey Vonn says strong is the new beautiful. — Tom Ashbrook

Lindsey Vonn, world champion downhill skier and author of "Strong Is The New Beautiful." (@lindseyvonn)

Outside Magazine: Lindsey Vonn's Body Politics — "Champion skier Lindsey Vonn’s new book, 'Strong Is the New Beautiful,' is all about healthy body image, but you wouldn’t know it from the trailer, which features a mostly naked Lindsey wrapping herself in cloth, posing with ski poles, and smiling coyly in black heels under bright studio lights. It seems more like a behind-the-scenes promo for a magazine shoot than an ad for a book about nutrition and strength training. But in the age of the ESPN Body Issue—an age where shiny, nude, athletic bodies have become nearly cliche and a sexy woman in a sports bra seems nearly chaste—the trailer straddles a fine line between pinup and power, one that warrants the headline 'Vonn Takes It All Off' while at the same time burnishing Vonn’s image as a female role model. This is 'athlete nude,' and Vonn has executed it masterfully."

The Wall Street Journal: Skier Lindsey Vonn: Before Alpine Peaks, A Cozy Basement — "When I was growing up in Burnsville, Minn., a suburb of the Twin Cities, I lived in the basement of my family’s redbrick home. I loved it down there. My bedroom was away from my parents and four younger siblings, and there was just one window, so it was dark, like a den. I had my mini black-and-white TV and my privacy. I got a lot of homework done and I slept well, since it was stone quiet."

"When I look at myself on my own, I think I look okay. But when I stand next to someone else...nowI’ve just gotten to the point where I just don’t care anymore." — Vonn, on her ongoing and evolving sense of self-confidence in public

"All shapes and sizes are beautiful — the important part is your perception of yourself." — Vonn on her new sense of self — and the message of her new book, "Strong in the New Beautiful "

"I'm not preaching that I’m the ideal, or that strong is the only body type — I’m saying embrace the body you have." — Vonn explaining to a caller about why her "Strong is the New Beautiful" mantra can embrace more than just a singular definition of beauty