Professional rugby player Ilona Maher first popped up on my TikTok For You Page a while back, and though I always found her content fun and engaging, it wasn't until the 2024 Paris Olympics that I've realized what an incredible role model the U.S. rugby sevens center, 27, is. In fact, she's exactly the athlete I would have loved to look up to as a kid playing sports.
Maher's list of athletic accomplishments is long—she's a two-time Olympian (with a Bronze medal from this year's games) who's also played in the World Championships in 2018 and 2022—but it's her off-the-field presence that's endeared her to me and scores of other fans. (The athlete has racked up an impressive 4.4 million followers across TikTok and Instagram.)
While I love her insanely impressive rugby clips and Love Island recaps as much as the next person, the content that's resonated most with me centers around her commitment to spreading body positivity. Maher is 5'10" and 200-ish pounds (she says she fluctuates between 194 and 200). At the start of this year's games, Maher shared a TikTok saying—and I'm paraphrasing—as you watch the Olympics, notice all of the body types on display; all body types are beautiful and can do amazing things, so see yourself in these athletes and know that you can do it too.