"She saw our value"- Ilona Maher opens up on receiving $4 million sponsorship after the Paris Olympics

Olympic medalist rugby player Ilona Maher recently opened up on the financial support her team received after the Paris Olympics. The Amercian women's rugby sevens team had created history at the Paris Olympics by winning a bronze medal, which was their first ever Olympic medal in the history of the this event.

In a podcast session with BBC's 'Rugby Union Weekly', Maher talked about the impact of the sponsorship on her team after the Paris Olympics. In her words,

"I think my teammates and I also knew the impact we could have on social media. And a lot of my teammates were posting and we were all doing our thing. But to get that $4 million sponsorship was really impactful because she saw our value, which we already knew we had.”

In another interview with BBC, Maher talked about her presence on the social media, and how she aimed to use it to generate more attention towards women's rugby.

"Rugby is my thing, but I have had to create this whole other thing around me," she added. "Being on the pitch is amazing, but as a female athlete, as a female rugby player, I have to do 10 times as much off the field."

Maher recently participated at the 33rd season of the dance reality show, 'Dancing with the Stars.' She surprised everyone with her consistent performances, finishing as runners-up along with dance partner Alan Bersten, missing the mirrorball trophy by a whisker.

---

Ilona Maher on struggles to make 'real money' alongside rugby

Ilona Maher on struggles to make 'real money' alongside rugby [Image Source : Getty]

In an interview with British daily 'The Guardian', Ilona Maher opened up about the struggles to make 'real money' alongside rugby. She also spoke up about the need to go beyond just 'strong social media presence'. Maher said:

“I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t serious because I do social media or social media takes away my impact on the field. As a female athlete I would love to just focus on what I am doing on the field but if I want to live a comfortable life, if I want to make real money, I have to actually do more. Maybe that is a female thing, sometimes we have to do more. I wasn’t willing to give up something that could be so lucrative for me, I wanted to make sure I could do both."

In another interview, Maher spoke about the moment when Team USA clinched the bronze medal. Here's what she said:

"We truly changed the game in Paris and did something so monumental. We just got a bronze, but honestly, it felt like a gold. And I think even some people, whenever they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re the gold medalist,’ I’m like, ‘Nope just got a bronze.’ But people, people of the reaction to it and because of how amazing it was, it seems like a gold ... We call it rose gold, actually. It's our rose gold."

Maher has signed up for the rugby club Bristol Bears. She has signed up a three month contract with the English club for the upcoming Premiership women's rugby league.