Who Is Ilona Maher? Meet the TikTok-Famous Team USA Rugby Star

Olympian Ilona Maher has made an impression for her rugby expertise and for her scorching takes on-line.

Maher, 27, began taking part in rugby in highschool earlier than making a reputation for herself as a collegiate athlete. She finally caught the eye of coaches Richie Walker and Emilie Bydwell, who selected her to hitch the U.S. nationwide crew for rugby sevens.

Maher made her Olympic debut on the Tokyo Video games in 2021, however the expertise wasn’t all she anticipated it to be. (Crew USA was knocked out by Nice Britain within the quarterfinals.)

“There’s one thing referred to as the post-Olympic blues. Right here you might be on essentially the most superb stage on the earth. A lot is predicted of you. You’ve educated your entire life for this. For those who don’t win a medal — even if you happen to do win a medal — you’re completed and then you definitely come crashing down. That was very robust,” Maher advised NBC Sports activities in 2023.

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Whereas she didn’t take residence the gold, Maher described her first Olympics as “transformational” due to the platform it supplied her. “I turned the ‘Olympic TikToker’ and other people took discover of not solely me however of my sport. … It undoubtedly reworked myself, even my profession, how I generate income now and my affect,” she defined.

With the 2024 Paris Olympics underway, Maher is constant to face out on the sector and off. She in contrast 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 in all Crew USA’s first video games along with his spouse, Kylie Kelce.

Together with being a rugby champion, Maher is a vocal advocate for physique positivity. “Rugby has confirmed me that my physique is not only one thing to be checked out. It has a objective,” she advised NBC Sports activities. “It will probably run laborious and deal with. It’s given me a brand new appreciation for what my physique can do and what my muscle tissue can do. I feel [the sport] can do it for lots of different ladies too — to point out them that your physique is a lot greater than only a factor to be criticized and seen.”

Scroll right down to study extra about Maher:

1. Rugby Wasn’t Her 1st Sport

Maher grew up taking part in basketball, subject hockey and softball earlier than her dad inspired her to attempt rugby.

“My dad has performed rugby for nearly 40-plus years now. After I advised him I didn’t need to play softball he stated I needed to do one thing,” she advised NBC Sports activities in 2023. “There was an area highschool crew that had a rugby membership and so I went and performed there. The game match my physique like a glove. It was like I went on the sector and knew it. I understood [the sport] from the start after which progressed.”

To at the present time, Maher is “consistently” seeking to her dad for recommendation on the way to enhance her sport. “He is aware of a lot. He loves it, he breathes it, he reads all of the [rule] books. Each time I’m residence I’ll go to his membership rugby video games. … It’s been actually cool,” she gushed.

2. She Has A number of Levels

Maher earned a level in nursing from Quinnipiac College, the place she was recruited to play rugby, and later obtained a grasp’s in enterprise administration from DeVry College. She balanced her rugby profession with nursing, a occupation she shares along with her mother.

“I wished to do each, so I made it my mission to do each,” she advised NBC Sports activities. “It wasn’t straightforward, however I additionally didn’t discover that I needed to sacrifice lots. I labored very laborious for it, however I additionally actually loved the laborious work facet of it. I loved going to the clinicals. I like doing issues that preserve my mind busy. If I put my thoughts to one thing and I need to do it, I’ll do it.”

3. She Has a Skincare Model

Shortly earlier than heading to Paris, Maher launched Medalist Pores and skin with merchandise particularly designed with athletes in thoughts. “We consider in merging the worlds of athleticism and skincare, providing options that not solely improve efficiency by stopping discomfort but additionally promote general pores and skin wellness and confidence,” she advised Nicely+Good in July.

4. She’s a Social Media Sensation

Maher shares her #BeastBeautyBrains message with 1.4 million followers on Instagram and an viewers of 1.6 million on TikTok. She beforehand spoke about utilizing her platform in a 2023 TED Discuss and has been a vocal advocate for subjects like physique picture and inclusivity.

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“As ladies, a variety of occasions our physique has been this object to be checked out, one thing to be objectified, and I hate that there’s ladies on the market who don’t know or suppose they don’t have a objective for his or her physique in order that they need to change it consistently,” she advised NCAA earlier this 12 months.

5. Her Method to Dealing With Haters

Maher is unapologetically herself on-line and on the sector — and he or she’s not enthusiastic about what the “bullies and trolls” need to say.

“It’s an fascinating steadiness of being so open on-line that additionally opens your self as much as criticism. … I nonetheless learn the feedback, however I additionally take extra of what individuals round me are saying, what individuals who know me are saying,” she advised Olympics.com forward of the 2024 Video games. “That’s extra vital; what the precise males in my life are saying. My sisters, as a result of their ideas are like, ‘I don’t see you in that manner in any respect.’ It’s simply individuals making an attempt to be imply to you.”

She continued, “My recommendation is simply hearken to the individuals round you as a result of these feedback are by no means going to cease. Persons are all the time going to be like that, which is gloomy, however hearken to the individuals round you. Additionally block individuals and delete it. You don’t want that.”