Ilona Maher drops 1-word reaction to Olivia Dunne's return to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

American rugby union player Ilona Maher recently shared her reaction to gymnast Olivia Dunne's latest Sports Illustrated shoot. Maher has represented the U.S. Rugby Sevens team at the Olympics, notably capturing the first-ever Olympic medal for the U.S. in Rugby Sevens at Paris 2024.

Olivia Dunne began gymnastics at three and has had a stellar NCAA career, including winning the Bruins' first-ever NCAA Championship in 2024. She was also named WCGA Academic All-American and made the 2022 SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Dunne took to Instagram to share her latest swimsuit feature on Sports Illustrated, which can be found below.

Maher shared her reaction to Olivia Dunne's Instagram post, where she wrote:

"Goddess."

Ilona Maher's comment on Dunne's post (Source: @livvydunne/Instagram)

This is not Dunne's first feature on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, as she debuted for the magazine in 2023.

Ilona Maher on the other hand, has also played college level Rugby, representing Quinnipiac University where she earned the MA Sorensen Award as the National Player of the Year (2016) and was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the NIRA Championships in 2017.

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Ilona Maher makes her feelings known over social media abuse

Ilona Maher before the Bristol Bears' game against the Harlequins (Image via Getty)

Olympian Ilona Maher made her thoughts known on the constant abuse she faces on social media. The 28-year-old bronze medalist has a huge social media following, and at one point was the most followed active rugby player on the planet, with over 1.7 million followers across Instagram and TikTok.

Maher has previously advocated for body positivity and used her platform to spread her message. Understandably, her huge platform has also led to her receiving online abuse. She expressed her feelings on the topic in an interview with The Telegraph, where she said:

“The abuse is constant. I don’t think it will ever stop. What’s so great is that I play a sport with amazing women who know and make me feel good about myself. I have friends and family around me. It’s never going to stop and even in rugby, we get that constantly. There are the comments, ‘Why would I watch the women’s game?’”

“I get comments about just being the Instagrammer and ‘She’s not good at rugby’. It’s going to be constant. It’s about blocking them out and continuing to promote my message. The hate will continue to come, but I’ll continue to fight it off,” she added.

Maher shared a strong stance on the matter and talked about shutting out the abuse. She will look to make a strong impression at the Pacific Four Series in May, where she will represent the U.S. Women's Rugby Team.