Ilona Maher

An all-around athlete in high school, Ilona Maher transitioned to rugby during her collegiate career, initially at South Burlington School Rugby Football Club and later at Quinnipiac University. There, not only did Maher earn All-American Honors, but she led her teammates to three titles with the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA). In 2017, she was also honored with the MA Sorenson Award, delivered to the best women's rugby player in college athletics.

After a standout performance in early 2018, helping Scion Rugby Academy earn the 2018 Las Vegas Invitational's Elite title, Maher made her international debut at the 2018 Paris Sevens tournament. From there, she competed at the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 on home soil in San Francisco and also represented the United States in rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 and in Paris in 2024, where she won a bronze medal as a member of the US women's national rugby sevens team.

A combination of speed and power, Maher would earn an invite to the Women's Eagles fifteens camp in 2021, making her official debut against Canada during the Pacific Four Series in Glendale, CO. Her achievements also include being a medalist at the 2019 Pan American Games and competing in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series. In 2024, she signed a three-month contract leading up to the 2025 Rugby World Cup with the Bristol Bears.

Beyond her rugby career, Maher also has a degree in nursing and recently completed a master’s degree in business administration and management. She is a brand ambassador for Secret deodorant and co-founded a skincare brand called Medalist. In addition, she gave a TEDxTalk in 2022, advocating for body positivity and increased awareness of women's sports.

The Team USA star became a viral sensation when she started documenting her experiences at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on TikTok. Since then, she has accumulated over a million followers by promoting body positivity, enjoying her favorite foods, making "train with me" content, and more. She is currently the most followed rugby player in the world on Instagram. Following the Olympics, Maher was announced as a contestant on the 33rd season of "Dancing with the Stars."