28 year old Ilona Maher is an American rugby player who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and brought home a bronze medal with the women’s national sevens rugby team.
Rugby is a full contact team sport with two teams of seven players who combine strength, strategy and speed to earn points. Although Maher’s talent on the field is undeniable, how she utilizes the platform she was given is even more impressive.
Maher has gone viral on social media by promoting the belief that women can enhance their feminine features as well as being physically fit. This is primarily shown through her use of red lipstick. The symbolism behind the red lipstick is to express her femininity even while stepping onto a large stadium to play quite an aggressive sport.
In today’s society with websites such as FaceTune and other editing platforms, unrealistic body images and facial features are presented to younger audiences. Maher helps to encourage others to embrace their bodies and reject unrealistic expectations. Typically through TikTok, she truly advocates for the importance of self-acceptance.
Growing up, Maher spent all her time “pitching, running, and training to put various balls into assorted nets,” said Maher in a Tedx Talk on Dec. 3, 2022. Maher always dreamed of being an Olympian but as her favorite childhood sport, softball, was beginning to feel more like a chore, she decided to change her path. To continue to stay active, Maher signed up for rugby, and due to its similarity to various sports she had grown up playing, it was fairly simple for her to pick up.
Shortly after graduating college with a nursing degree, Maher was named one of the best rugby players in the country and recruited for the USA women’s sevens team.
In 2021, during the Tokyo Olympics, Maher began to film her life in the Olympic Village, which attracted millions. Eventually the team lost to Great Britain and missed their opportunity to play for a medal. Instead of dwelling on that, Maher took it to propel her further. “The Olympics are filled with the highest highs and the lowest lows, but so many lessons are learned,” said Maher in her Tedx Talk.
Maher took her positive energy to continue to work harder, get stronger, and strengthen her mental health. After some time off she returned for the 2024 Paris Olympics and brought home a bronze medal for the United States. During her time in the Olympic Village she continued to film and post TikToks to show the reality behind the Olympics and to share that Olympic athletes are also just normal people.
While her popularity was growing rapidly, she also was experiencing lots of hate due to her physique. Growing up Maher’s father taught her to never tone down her strength and embrace her power, which is what she has preached to her audience.