"Look at how big she is"- Ilona Maher opens up on embracing body positivity while taking on the rugby field amid latest move to Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher has become a face of women's rugby in the USA, and she's been using her platform to promote body positivity. Recently, the two-time Olympian opened up about how rugby has helped her embrace her body type and find confidence within herself.

Maher first rose to fame during the 2020 Tokyo Games, as she captured the life of athletes in the Olympic Village. Since then, her following has grown consistently, and her popularity multiplied overnight after she led Team USA to bronze at the Paris Olympics.

Recently, Ilona Maher reflected on how rugby helped her embrace body positivity, leading to her loving the title of a ‘big girl'. In an interview with HSBC Sport, Maher said:

“Through rugby I've just grown into a confident woman, that I don't know if I would have become without it. They almost praised me for my size, which you don't get in culture today. You get praised for your size when you lose weight, that's when you get praised. I love it when I get called all that, or when I get called ‘big girl’,and ‘look at how big she is’. I'm like ‘yes!’. This body has let me be a pro athlete, let me be an amazing player.”

After the Games, Maher signed with the Britsol Bears in the Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR), and will play for the team starting January 2025. This will mark the American's first time playing XV in three years.

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Ilona Maher on embracing her femininity as a rugby player

Maher on embracing her femininity (Image Source: Getty)

Alongside promoting body positivity, Ilona Maher has also consistently used her platform to smash the stereotypes of being a female rugby player. The 27-year-old had been vocal about wearing makeup on the rugby field and embracing her femininity while playing the physically gruelling sport.

After Team USA's bronze medal winning match at the Paris Olympics, Maher opened up about the stereotypes that female rugby players deal with, saying (as quoted by AP):

“I think the stereotype around a rugby player is this idea that you need to drop your femininity and play a very masculine, brutal sport. Myself and my team and some others on the circuit like Australia and Ireland, are showing that femininity. We are doing our makeup before games, wearing makeup, wanting to feel pretty out there.

But that doesn’t take away from how amazing we tackle and hit and run. You can be those things, and the stereotypes around women’s sports just should be thrown out the window now,” she added.

After the 2024 Games, Ilona Maher went on to compete on the reality TV show Dancing With The Stars, becoming the first rugby player to do so. On the show, Maher was partnered with Alan Bersten, and finished second in the finals.