Ilona Maher reflects on the moment involving a family member that taught her to embrace herself without 'toning down'

Ilona Maher, who has emerged as one of the top talents in rugby, brought home USA's first medal in the women's discipline at the Paris Olympics. While turning heads with her performance in the field, she recently shared about the vital lesson her father taught her.

Maher, who is also a speaker for body positivity, has gained influence with her social media presence. She has highlighted concerns regarding women sports and social movement focusing on positive acceptance of all body types. As per CNN, Maher shed light on how her father instructed her not to change and to grow with her talent. Further reminiscing how he had taken charge, she noted:

He said, “This is a fast-pitch league. She gets to throw fast pitches.”

She continued:

“I think that was the first moment of being told to never tone it down, because that dad over there wanted me to tone myself down so that it could be easier for (his daughter). But that’s not the world, is it? The world isn’t going to tone down for you.”

Maher started playing rugby from her high school and from there on, her passion for the sport developed further. She was inspired by her father, Michael Maher, who himself played rugby for more than four decades.

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Ilona Maher navigates her epic first try against the Exeter Chiefs

Ilona Maher at Bristol Bears v Gloucester-Hartpury - Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby - Source: Getty

Ilona Maher joined the Bristol Bears in Premiership Women's Rugby league in England. She has a three-month contract with them and completed her first try against the Exeter Chiefs with Bears winning the game with a lead. In a short segment from “For the Love of Rugby” podcast, she talked about the iconic moment.

“So, I kind of did a little stutter step to get the one girl and then I could have easily gone around her. I could have gone around her, but I was tired, I'm like, 'I'm sorry little lady you are in the way of me and that tryline and I'm not moving, one of us has got to move, so I'm going to forcefully move you'. So, I went through her and then afterwards my teammate was like 'Did you hold up a hand in the air?'. I was like, I was so tired, I almost tripped and fell on my face. But I kept running,” she said.

Maher’s debut game with the Bristol Bears was against Gloucester-Hartpury, a game which the Bears lost. However, her presence attracted sizeable number of fans and as a result, the venue had to be shifted to accommodate a larger crowd.

Ilona Maher has become a prominent face for women's rugby and has amassed a huge following on social media channel Instagram. She was also one of the contestants in the show, “Dancing with the Stars” in its 33rd season, securing a second-place finish with dance partner, Alan Bersten.