Beast Beauty and Brains
After the 2024 Summer Olympics, American rugby player Ilona Maher has become a role model for young girls nationwide through her strong and determined mindset and confidence in her femininity. Since the Olympics, she has appeared on Dancing with the Stars, Season 33, featured on Forbes’ 2025 30 under 30 list, and recently signed with the English Rugby Union Team, Bristol Bears.
Maher is an absolute beast on the field, but even so, she still isn’t the best in the league. In an interview with Rugby Union Weekly, she admitted to her imperfections on the field.
“I’m amazing at rugby, but realistically, I’m maybe not the best at it, which is fine,”
Despite this, Ilona has become the spokesperson for not only rugby but also women athletes across the world. What differentiates Ilona Maher from other players? Why has the world suddenly developed Maher Fever?
Simply put, her charisma and bubble personality have infected the nation, and her insistence on speaking about body positivity and the challenges girls and women face in sports has crowned her the “People’s Princess.”
The 2024 Summer Olympics
During the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Ilona gained fame for her TikTok, which provided insight into the lives of Olympians during this international event. Most of all, her videos proved that despite their athletic prowess, the famous world athletes we look up to are actually just like us.
The following Summer Olympics in 2024, Ilona continued her social media streak and, most importantly, helped Team USA gain another Olympic medal, the first-ever medal for America in Rugby at the Olympics.
The Bronze Medal match between Australia and America was a personal highlight of the Olympics for me. Both teams played fiercely; Australia is known for its rugby skills, featuring formidable and intimidating players such as the Levi sisters, Madison and Tegan Levi. Ultimately, in the final minute of the game, America scored the winning try, securing a bronze medal for Team USA, marking this game as a historical landmark for America and female athletes worldwide.
Dancing With The Stars
After her rise to fame during the Olympics, Ilona continued her journey as a contestant on ABC’s TV show, “Dancing with the Stars” for its 33rd season along with fellow American Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik.
Maher broke boundaries with her partner, Alan Bersten, as during dances, she emitted feminity but refused to follow traditional rules as she was often lifting Bersten and performing impressive tricks.
Some of her highlights from this season include her dance to Encanto’s “Surface Pressure” for Disney Night due to a popular fan request, and of course, her season finale dance to “Feminimonem” by Chappel Roan.
Though Ilona’s presence on the show racked up millions of views and record-breaking voting numbers, her competitors Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson swept away first place with their perfect scoring cha-cha, leaving Ilona and Alan with a much-deserved second place.
Forbes 30 under 30
Through all of her accomplishments both in and out of the sports world, Ilona Maher has claimed a spot on one of the most sought-after lists, Forbes 30 under 30. This list highlights 30 people under the age of 30 who have accomplished extraordinary things in different areas of expertise, such as social media, entrepreneurship, medicine and, of course, sports.
Bristol Bears
After much debate on what the future holds for Ilona Maher, she finally announced that she will be signing to the Rugby Union team Bristol Bears for the 2025 season.
Maher is the world’s most-followed rugby player on social media. Her signing to the Bristol Bears has rapidly increased their prominence in the media and has aided in selling out games so quickly that stadium changes are required.
Currently, Ilona is preparing for her first game on January 5th against Gloucester-Hartpury as she transitions from the elegant world of dance to the rigorous training required for rugby.
All eyes are on Maher as we watch this rugby star’s legacy unfold before us, as we all cheer for Team Beast Beauty and Brains.
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