Dame Denise Lewis revealed she felt ‘sexier than ever’ as she posed for her first lingerie shoot aged 53.
The Olympic gold medallist is the new face of Coco de Mer’s Icons collection and looked phenomenal as she modelled a selection of pieces from the line.
Denise – who retired from the heptathlon 20 years ago – proved she still has a passion for fitness as she showed off her enviably toned physique in a skimpy two piece.
Speaking about the shoot, Denise said: ‘Taking part in my first lingerie shoot in my fifties is a statement that confidence isn’t age-dependent and visibility is power.
‘It feels more energising than I could have imagined.
‘The meaning of confidence has changed for me over time. It is about strength in my own skin – feeling strong, self-aware and sexier than ever as I move into the next chapter of my life.’
Dame Denise Lewis felt ‘sexier than ever’ as she posed for her first lingerie shoot aged 53 – explaining that she wanted to celebrate the body she’d worked so hard for
The Olympic gold medallist is the new face of Coco de Mer’s Icons collection and looked phenomenal as she modelled a selection of pieces from the line
Denise – who retired from the heptathlon 20 years ago – proved she still has a passion for fitness as she showed off her enviably toned physique in a skimpy two piece
The mother-of-four continued: ‘I take care of my body not to smash world records anymore, but to feel powerful mentally as well as physically.
‘Being recognised by Coco de Mer as an Icon is humbling and proof that women in midlife aren’t fading, they’re rising – reclaiming our bodies, our stories, and our right to be seen as vibrant, sensual and unapologetically whole.’
Denise added in a chat with The Times: ‘It’s celebrating my body, because I’ve worked for it. To have a woman over 50 saying, “Actually, this is me. This is what I can be,” is so liberating.
‘Hopefully, it encourages more women to feel they are more than the labels attached to them — working woman, mother. You can be these things and not lose the essence of who you are.’
Denise is mother to four children, having juggled her incredible sporting career with motherhood.
Yet it wasn’t easy and she admitted that she felt ‘triggered’ to learn that at last year’s Olympics, where nine British mothers competed, Team GB had a creche and a breastfeeding area.
‘There’s this feeling of, “Well done you for getting yourself back to competing and how amazing you are.” All the governing bodies and support should be there to enable that,’ she mused.
‘But when it happened to me, they weren’t there. And all the headlines were unsupportive. That sowed a seed of doubt in my mind.’
Speaking about the shoot, Denise said: ‘Taking part in my first lingerie shoot in my fifties is a statement that confidence isn’t age-dependent and visibility is power.’
Denise added: ‘It feels more energising than I could have imagined. The meaning of confidence has changed for me over time. It is about strength in my own skin – feeling strong’
The mother-of-four continued: ‘I take care of my body not to smash world records anymore, but to feel powerful mentally as well as physically’
She mused: ‘Being recognised by Coco de Mer as an Icon is humbling and proof that women in midlife aren’t fading, they’re rising – reclaiming our bodies, our stories’
Denise added: ‘It’s celebrating my body, because I’ve worked for it. To have a woman over 50 saying, “Actually, this is me. This is what I can be,” is so liberating’
She mused: ‘Hopefully, it encourages more women to feel they are more than the labels attached to them — working woman, mother’
Denise first fell pregnant in 2001 – a year after she pushed though a calf and an achilles injury at the Sydney Olympics to win Britain’s first Olympic athletics gold medal in eight years.
She shares daughter, Lauryn, now 23, with Belgian sprinter Patrick Stevens. Denise and Patrick split in 2005, 18 months after Lauryn was born.
In 2006 she married music manager Steve Finan O’Connor in a low-key wedding, having been introduced by friends.
They went on to welcome three sons: Ryan, 19, Kane, 16, and Troy, six.
Denise was 46 when Troy was born. She admitted that ‘he was a huge surprise,’ telling ITV’s Lorraine Kelly: ‘We thought we were past going for another. I thought I was entering menopause and, lo and behold, there he was!’
She told the Daily Mail this year that the main difference between having a baby at 46 and one at 29 is the confidence to do it her way.
For instance, she insisted that her husband would sleep in a separate room and deal solely with the elder boys; she would focus on bonding with Troy and getting some rest and be back at work in two months.
‘I wanted a clear head. Good energy,’ she explained. ‘And it worked a treat.’
Denise shares three sons: Ryan, 19, Kane, 16, and Troy, six, with husband Steve Finan O’Connor (pictured) and a daughter Lauryn, 23, with Belgian sprinter Patrick Stevens
Denise first fell pregnant in 2001 – a year after she pushed though a calf and an achilles injury at the Sydney Olympics to win Britain’s first Olympic athletics gold medal in eight years
Denise joins the likes of Helena Christensen, Pamela Anderson and Charli Howard in being named a Coco de Mer Icon.
Coco de Mer owner and chief executive Lucy Litwack said of the new partnership: ‘As a brand that aims to support, celebrate and empower women, we believe Dame Denise is the perfect icon to women everywhere – she is a trailblazer.
‘It is wonderful to see Denise exude strength in her own skin and feel more sensual and confident in Coco de Mer as she embarks on a new chapter in her life.
‘Championing female pleasure in all its forms is at the heart of everything we do and in working with Denise we hope to celebrate the body confidence that beautiful lingerie can provide, whatever your age.’