US Rugby hero Ilona Maher stars for SI Swimsuit with Olympic medal

Ilona Maher, a member of the United States women’s rugby team that improbably won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics, can now add Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model to her list of accolades.
Maher posed, with the medal, for the cover of the outlet’s digital September issue.
“I was always like, you know, called masculine or whatever,” Maher told SI. “But I never felt that way. But I don’t think you’re going to bully the girl who could probably beat you up in a rage. I love that [rugby] showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and it’s not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.”
6 The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit digital edition cover with with Ilona Maher. Sports Illustrated/Ben Watts
6 Ilona Maher poses with the Olympic bronze medal for SI Swim. Instagram/Ilona Maher
6 Ilona Maher kisses her Olympic medal during the photoshoot. Instagram/Ilona Maher
Maher has seen her social media follower count skyrocket since the Olympics started and now has 2.3 million followers on TikTok.
Last month, she fired back at a troll on the platform who had commented, “I bet that person has a 30% BMI.”
“Hi, thank you for this comment. I think you were trying to roast me, but this is actually a fact,” Maher said in response. “I do have a BMI of 30. Well, 29.3 to be exact.
6 Olympic bronze medal rugby player Ilona Maher poses for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit September Digital Issue Sports Illustrated/Ben Watts
6 Ilona Maher of USA during the Women’s Seven Rugby, Day 3 – Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on July 30, 2024 in Saint Denis, France. AbacaPress / SplashNews.com
“I’ve been considered overweight my whole life. In middle school, elementary school, high school, I was always considered overweight.
She continued to say that while conventional metrics would say she’s overweight she had the proof that she’s a bona fide athlete.
“I’ve said it before, I’m 5-foot-10, 200 lbs, and I have about — and this is an estimate — about 170 pounds of lean mass on me. Do that math in your head. You probably can’t,” Maher continued in the video.
6 Ilona Maher has 2.3 million followers on TikTok. Sports Illustrated/Ben Watts
“That’s pretty crazy, right? And that BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do; It doesn’t tell you what I do on the field; How fit I am. It’s just a couple of numbers put together. It doesn’t tell you how much muscle I have, or anything like that. So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight.
“But alas, I’m going to the Olympics — and you’re not,” Maher concluded.