Lindsey Vonn dishes on 'hard time' she had with body image after winning Olympics

American alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn recently opened up about her body image struggles, which began after she was thrust into the spotlight following her gold-medal win at the 2010 Olympics.

According to People magazine, in Tuesday's episode of TB12's, 'The Keep Going Podcast', the 36-year-old retired skier said, "While it may seem like I've always been comfortable with who I am, I definitely have not always felt that."

"I had a hard time after I won the Olympics because I was taken outside my ski bubble and put in this entertainment and celebrity bubble and around people that were half my size," she told podcast host and TB12 CEO John Burns.

"I was like, 'Am I supposed to look like this? I had never compared myself really to others," she recalled.

However, the three-time Olympic medalist says she has recently learned to embrace her body.

"I had a really hard time with it but in the last couple of years I've figured it out. I am who I am. I feel like I've never conformed to my personality or my style but for positive body image, I definitely struggled with that," Vonn said.

"I have cellulite, I have stretch marks. I work out every single day and I still have all those things and they're not going away. So it's like, this is me, take it or leave it," she added.

As for what advice she has for parents of young girls who may be struggling with their own body image, Vonn says it's important to try "to get them to believe in themselves and embrace their uniqueness".

Emphasising the importance of "just encouraging them to be who they are," she added, "sometimes that's the hardest thing to do in life, be confident in who you are".

Vonn had last month opened up about the body-shaming she endured throughout her career, and how the critical comments have continued into her retirement.

She had told the New York Post's Alexa magazine, "A lot of people have said, 'You shouldn't wear things like that. It doesn't look good on your body type.' Or 'You're too muscular for that.' " Now, since retiring from competitive skiing in 2019, her body has changed -- and Vonn says she's started getting different types of comments.

As per People Magazine, she said, "I'm a lot leaner. I used to do things that were so sport-specific, so I had to be bigger. But everyone is like, 'Oh my God, you're in the best shape of your life.' It's like -- yes and no. I'm not training for my sport anymore, I am training to be lean and fit."

( With inputs from ANI )