Nimble Needham native Aly Raisman, captain of the gold medal-winning US women’s gymnastics team at the 2012 Olympics, bares it all — OK, almost all — in ESPN The Magazine’s annual Body Issue. The 21-year-old gymnast tells the mag she was worn out after the Olympics, and is undecided about competing in Rio at next summer’s games. “Every day is a challenge,” she says. “Even though at the 2012 Olympics we were so happy to win the gold medal, every day is not like that. I think people don’t understand that; people don’t see that side of the sport — the frustration, how much it takes a toll on your body, and mentally as well.” About her 5-foot-2, 115-pound frame, Raisman says, “Instead of being insecure about my muscles, I’ve learned to love them. I don’t even think of it as a flaw anymore because it’s made me into the athlete that I am. I think imperfection is beauty.” Now in its seventh year, the Body Issue has featured a slew of buff sportos in their birthday suits, including Venus Williams, Michael Phelps, Marshawn Lynch, Candace Parker, Blake Griffin, and Apolo Anton Ohno. The magazine hits newsstands July 10.
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Names can be reached at names@globe.com. Follow Mark Shanahan on Twitter @MarkAShanahan.