Michelle Jenneke: Australian Hurdler Dancing Sensation Poses In Bikini For Sports Illustrated

Michelle Jenneke became a viral sensation this summer when a video emerged of the Australian hurdler’s pre-race dance routine. Now Jenneke is parlaying that celebrity into an appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

The 19-year-old gained viral fame when someone uploaded a YouTube video of her excited, bouncing dance at the IAAF World Junior Championship last summer. While she’s not exactly close to being an Olympic-caliber sprinter, Michelle Jenneke quickly became one of the most popular female track and field stars.

The folks at Sports Illustrated noticed Michelle Jenneke. She appeared in the swimsuit issue, and the magazine also released a behind-the-scenes video of her shoot as well. THe video shows Jenneke explaining her affinity for hurdling, saying it’s a big more technical that straight sprinting.

In the video, Jenneke also comes across as still a bit uncomfortable with her sudden fame.

“I was absolutely amazed when I found out Sports Illustrated wanted to shoot me,” she said, later adding, “I looked at the pictures and I think, wow, is that really me?”

But it’s not like Jenneke is an unwilling entrant into the viral video hall of fame. She’s already shown she can take advantage of her fame (and poke a bit of fun at it) with a comedic short video released by The Chive. In it, Jenneke is the object of desire for a young man, once again showing off her dance moves, The Huffington Post noted.

Here is the video of Michelle Jenneke in her Sports Illustrated photo shoot: