It may have landed her in hot water in the past but the Olympian is not afraid to show off her body.
Rice posed the picture on Instagram thanking her friends and swimwear designer Ellie Gonsalves for the new bikini. It was a present for her 24th birthday, even though her birthday was June 17.
While there was an initial fear that the athlete might be breaching her contract with Speedo, her management has insisted that she is not breaking any commercial agreements.
“No, Stephanie isn’t an ambassador for Ellie Gonsalves, she just loves their stuff. She doesn’t have any relationship with Speedo anymore so there are no restrictions there.”
This isn’t the first time the swimmer has splashed onto social networking sites. In 2008 she donned a policewoman’s costume on Facebook, and made a homophobic slur via Twitter in 2010. She recently caused a stir posting a post-break-up self-portrait in a red bikini on Twitter after her split from Wallaby Quade Cooper.
Maybe after getting the gold the swimmer will celebrate with a picture in her birthday suit? One can only hope.
Image from Instagram
Thankyou to the Gorgeous @elliegonsalves for my birthday @veveswimwear bikiniinstagr.am/p/MNBZEMkQds/
— Stephanie Rice (@ItsStephRice) June 23, 2012