Camille Kostek is rapidly becoming one of our favorite models and when you read the message she left after getting a cover spot on the 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue it’s not hard to see why. “A dream come true. I’m trying not to cry of joy AGAIN as I simply write that little phrase,” the 27-year-old Sports Illustrated cover model shared Thursday on Instagram, along with the jaw-dropping cover shot. “This is living proof to ‘trust the process’ ‘everything happens for a reason’ ‘when the time is right…'” (SLIDESHOW: 71 Times Samantha Hoopes Stripped Down) View this post on Instagram A post shared by CAMILLE (@camillekostek) on May 3, 2019 at 8:24pm PDT “THIS cover is my living proof that what’s meant to be will be,” she added. “This cover came after countless NO’s. This cover came after years of rejection. This cover came after 10 years of talking about wanting to simply be a @si_swimsuit model in the issue.” (SLIDESHOW: 142 Times Josephine Skriver Barely Wore Anything) Kostek continued, “This cover came after submitting a video for the first ever open call two years ago. My day one friends and my parents and siblings have heard me talk about this dream forever.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by CAMILLE (@camillekostek) on Apr 14, 2019 at 3:49pm PDT “They’ve watched me work for it and they’ve watched me fail,” the swimsuit model explained. “But when you are passionate about wanting something in your life NOTHING will get in the way.” “This cover came at a time where I finally accepted every inch of this body, and where I felt my best self mentally,” she added. “I have admired women of this iconic issue since I learned of it over ten years ago. They helped shape the way I viewed myself.” Kostek concluded, “I feel so honored to be loved and trusted by @mj_day and the rest of the team to be one of covers for yet another powerful Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. This cover is for all the dreamers out there. Work hard, be kind to all around you and own who YOU are. SI SWIMSUIT 2019 COVERGIRL OMG.” I’ve got to say, it was incredible when I saw that the former New England Patriots’ cheerleader had been selected to grace one of the covers of this year’s swimsuit issue, joining the likes of such supermodels as Kate Upton and Tyra Banks, just to name a few. View this post on Instagram A post shared by CAMILLE (@camillekostek) on Jan 13, 2019 at 8:56am PST As she said, she went from being selected out of thousands as one of the six finalists in the competition vying for a spot as a rookie in the magazine. Then she was chosen as one of 2019 SI Swimsuit rookies and now she’s on the cover. It is truly going to be a lot of fun watching her career. Congrats Camille!<doc-sep>Bryan Fletcher goes in on James Roberts, Brisbane Broncos and Darius Boyd. Bryan Fletcher goes in on James Roberts, Brisbane Broncos and Darius Boyd.... Camille Kostek is a 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover girl and several sports stars have joined her in the pages of the iconic magazine. The model and former New England Patriots cheerleader, who is currently dating recently retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski, landed one of three solo covers of the swimsuit edition. First issued in 1964, the Swimsuit edition has been an annual feature for Sports Illustrated to showcase the skin of a number of sporting personalities around the globe. There are three different versions of the 2019 swimsuit issue. Supermodel Tyra Banks and soccer star Alex Morgan also have their own stunning cover 29-year-old American soccer representative Morgan, who is an Olympic gold medallist and FIFA World Champion, said it was “worth the wait” to appear in the Swimsuit edition after her last shoot five years ago. International alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, who claimed three Olympic gold medals for the USA from 2002 to 2018, also made an appearance in the Swimsuit edition. UFC fighter Paige VanZant was also featured in the iconic annual Swimsuit Edition. VanZant, 25, currently has a 8-4-0 record in the UFC and recently turned around a rough patch in the cage with a win against Rachael Ostovich in New York in January. Cover-girl Kostek, 27, was plucked out of relative obscurity during Sports Illustrated’s open model casting in 2017 and earned a spot as a rookie in the 2018 mag. She told The New York Post in 2017 that it was fellow SI cover girl Kate Upton’s 2011 issue that inspired her to pursue modelling. “This is a model in a bikini I could relate to … she had these bikini bottoms and had a little love handle,” Kostek said. Kostek has spoken out about how her curvy frame turned off modelling agents when she was just starting out. “They said, ‘Well, you don’t have the height, you don’t have the body, so get back to us once you’ve sorted that’. “A short year ago, Camille Kostek was a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search hopeful, vying for a coveted rookie spot in the 2019 issue,” remarked Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor MJ Day. “In a short amount of time, she has leveraged the power of her brand to inspire and educate others while at the same time pursuing her own dreams. She is a star on the rise.” Kostek, who scored a rookie slot in last year’s magazine, said landing her own cover left her “speechless.” “This is something that has left me shaking in my shoes,” Kostek said on “GMA.” This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was republished with permission<doc-sep>The 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has been unveiled with three covers: O.G. supermodel Tyra Banks, breakout star Camille Kostek and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan. Banks, a TV personality and entrepreneur who was the first black woman to adorn the annual bikini bible's cover in 1997, looks as stunning as ever at age 45 in her comeback cover appearance. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website "There is this stereotype that only a 20-year-old woman in a bikini is hot," Banks told Sports Illustrated. "Like once we reach a certain age, we are no longer desirable. But I want to show that modeling has no age. I’m coming out of retirement to practice what I preach." ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Banks dons a yellow string bikini on a Great Exuma, Bahamas beach for her cover, which was photographed by Laretta Banks. "I am telling people that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and ages" she added. “I have to put my money where my mouth is. I have to make sure my message is pure.” Kostek, who shined as a red carpet host at last year's Maxim Hot 100 Experience, also got a solo cover after landing a spot in the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue as part of the rookie class. The former NFL cheerleader and current girlfriend of retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski caught her first big break with the mag after participating in SI's open model casting in 2017 by submitting an Instagram video. Morgan, an Olympic gold medalist and multi-time U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, adorns the third solo cover. Watch her react to its unveiling below: MJ Day, editor of the issue, spoke highly of Morgan's activism in a press release. "Alex Morgan stands for feminine strength and power, using her voice to fight for gender discrimination and equal pay," Day said. "These women emulate determination to own who they are and demonstrate how limitless they can be," she said of the three cover models.<doc-sep>
Sports Illustrated named its coveted cover models for its swimsuit edition on Wednesday. The lucky models gracing its cover in 2019 are Camille Kostek, 27, Tyra Banks, 45, and soccer star Alex Morgan, 29. "@tyrabanks, @camillekostek and @alexmorgan13have landed the cover of #SISwim2019! 'The three women that make up the covers of the 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue represent the brand in the most powerful way possible,' @mj_daysaid. 'While each individual woman is so unique, they come together cohesively to tell a spectacular story,'" the magazine announced on Instagram. OLIVIA CULPO ADMITS SHE WAS 'REALLY NERVOUS' LEADING UP TO 2019 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT PHOTO SHOOT This isn't the first time the former "America's Next Top Model" host has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Banks first appeared on its cover in 1996 and returned again in 1997. Last year, she surprised model Danielle Herrington with the news that she made the magazine's cover in 2018. "Tyra Banks is the epitome of what we hope for all the women who are a part of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit," editor MJ Day said on the magazine's website. "What she has achieved so far in her career is extraordinary. She has parlayed a modeling career into [a] phenomenal success that spans multiple industries and resonates with people on a global scale. She has refused to be singularly defined and is constantly working to inspire everyone within her reach." ROB GRONKOWSKI’S GIRLFRIEND CAMILLE KOSTEK STUNS FOLLOWERS WITH TOPLESS POST Back in March, Kostek, who is dating retired football player Rob Gronkowski, told Fox News she’s always envisioned herself as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model and believed the magazine offers an empowering message for women. “If I didn’t think I could be here, I wouldn’t do it,” said Kostek. “It’s been such a refreshing, exciting time for me to model and be represented by a company that embraces women of every shape and size. It’s been so nice to not have that pressure to change just to be on a runway show or photo shoot. That’s exactly what I stand for as a woman and a sister. PAULINA PORIZKOVA, 54, ‘GULPED’ WHEN ASKED TO POSE FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED WITHOUT 'ANY RETOUCHING' "I just want to send the best message possible to women. And I’m just so thankful because I honestly never thought I could model. I’ve always been told I wasn’t tall enough, I wasn’t thin enough. It’s motivating when someone tells you it’s possible to do something that seems impossible.” The magazine also shared on its Twitter account a video of its third cover model, Alex Morgan, being surprised with the news that she made the final cut. "Just to be part of SI Swimsuit, I feel like empowered because I feel like I'm alongside so many incredible women," Morgan shares before finding out she's on the cover. "This is the first shot of the day, so I was still getting the nerves out of me," she said when shown the picture that ultimately made the cover. "This picture just shows me how strong I am and how hard I've worked not necessarily to show off my body in any way, but I work every single day to compete on the highest stage in my sport and this just shows all the training and discipline and commitment and sacrifice." US WOMEN'S SOCCER STAR ALEX MORGAN TALKS FIGHT FOR PAY PARITY AHEAD OF WOMEN'S WORLD CUP She concluded: "I'm so excited to represent all of women's soccer on the cover of Sports Illustrated."