Who Is Team USA’s Ilona Maher? 5 Things to Know About the Olympic Rugby Player
Olympian Ilona Maher has made an impression for her rugby talent and for her hot takes online.
Maher, 27, started playing rugby in high school before making a name for herself as a collegiate athlete. She eventually caught the attention of coaches Richie Walker and Emilie Bydwell, who chose her to join the U.S. national team for rugby sevens.
Maher made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but the experience wasn't all she expected it to be. (Team USA was knocked out by Great Britain in the quarterfinals.)
"There's something called the post-Olympic blues. Here you are on the most amazing stage in the world. So much is expected of you. You've trained your whole life for this. If you don't win a medal — even if you do win a medal — you're done and then you come crashing down. That was very tough," Maher told NBC Sports in 2023.
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While she didn't take home the gold, Maher described her first Olympics as "transformational" because of the platform it provided her. "I became the 'Olympic TikToker' and people took notice of not only me but of my sport. ... It definitely transformed myself, even my career, how I make money now and my influence," she explained.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics underway, Maher is continuing to stand out on the field and off. She compared the Olympic Village to the Love Island villa in a July TikTok video and made a rugby fan out of Jason Kelce when he attended one of Team USA's first games with his wife, Kylie Kelce.
Along with being a rugby champion, Maher is a vocal advocate for body positivity. "Rugby has showed me that my body is not just something to be looked at. It has a purpose," she told NBC Sports. "It can run hard and tackle. It's given me a new appreciation for what my body can do and what my muscles can do. I think [the sport] can do it for a lot of other women too — to show them that your body is so much more than just a thing to be criticized and viewed."
Scroll down to learn more about Maher:
1. Rugby Wasn't Her 1st Sport
Maher grew up playing basketball, field hockey and softball before her dad encouraged her to try rugby.
"My dad has played rugby for almost 40-plus years now. When I told him I didn't want to play softball he said I had to do something," she told NBC Sports in 2023. "There was a local high school team that had a rugby club and so I went and played there. The sport fit my body like a glove. It was like I went on the field and knew it. I understood [the sport] from the beginning and then progressed."
To this day, Maher is "constantly" looking to her dad for advice on how to improve her game. "He knows so much. He loves it, he breathes it, he reads all the [rule] books. Whenever I'm home I'll go to his club rugby games. ... It's been really cool," she gushed.
2. She Has Multiple Degrees
Maher earned a degree in nursing from Quinnipiac University, where she was recruited to play rugby, and later received a master's in business administration from DeVry University. She balanced her rugby career with nursing, a profession she shares with her mom.
"I wanted to do both, so I made it my mission to do both," she told NBC Sports. "It wasn't easy, but I also didn't find that I had to sacrifice a lot. I worked very hard for it, but I also really enjoyed the hard work aspect of it. I enjoyed going to the clinicals. I love doing things that keep my brain busy. If I put my mind to something and I want to do it, I'll do it."
3. She Has a Skincare Brand
Shortly before heading to Paris, Maher launched Medalist Skin with products specifically designed with athletes in mind. "We believe in merging the worlds of athleticism and skin care, offering solutions that not only enhance performance by preventing discomfort but also promote overall skin wellness and confidence," she told Well+Good in July.
4. She's a Social Media Sensation
Maher shares her #BeastBeautyBrains message with 1.4 million followers on Instagram and an audience of 1.6 million on TikTok. She previously spoke about using her platform in a 2023 TED Talk and has been a vocal advocate for topics like body image and inclusivity.
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"As women, a lot of times our body has been this object to be looked at, something to be objectified, and I hate that there's girls out there who don't know or think they don't have a purpose for their body so they want to change it constantly," she told NCAA earlier this year.
5. Her Approach to Dealing With Haters
Maher is unapologetically herself online and on the field — and she's not interested in what the "bullies and trolls" have to say.
"It's an interesting balance of being so open online that also opens yourself up to criticism. ... I still read the comments, but I also take more of what people around me are saying, what people who know me are saying," she told Olympics.com ahead of the 2024 Games. "That's more important; what the actual men in my life are saying. My sisters, because their thoughts are like, 'I don't see you in that way at all.' It's just people trying to be mean to you."
She continued, "My advice is just listen to the people around you because those comments are never going to stop. People are always going to be like that, which is sad, but listen to the people around you. Also block people and delete it. You don't need that."
