# Ilona Maher

Ilona Delsing Rosa Maher OLY (/ɪˈloʊnə ˈmɑːr/ il-OH-nə MAR; born August 12, 1996) is an American rugby union player. As of December 2024, she has signed for Bristol Bears in the Premiership Women's Rugby league and began playing for them in January 2025. She won bronze with the United States in rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Maher took up rugby at age 17, and went on to win three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) championships as a college player at Quinnipiac University. After debuting in 2018, she represented the United States national team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. She is also known for her body positivity advocacy.

## Early life and education

Ilona Delsing Rosa Maher was born on August 12, 1996, in Burlington, Vermont, to Michael and Mieneke Maher. Her mother is a Dutch native who works as a nurse. Her father, who has Irish ancestry, is a dentist and former rugby player who previously played for Saint Michael's College. Maher's older sister, Olivia, is a social media content creator who is known for coining the term "girl dinner" on TikTok.
Maher and her sisters started playing "high-level" sports such as field hockey, basketball and Little League softball at a young age. During the spring of her senior year at Burlington High School, Maher grew tired with softball and was encouraged by her father to play rugby. She attended Norwich University for one year before transferring to Quinnipiac University, where she graduated in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in nursing. She later received a master's degree in business administration from DeVry University.

## Rugby career

Maher began playing rugby for the South Burlington School Rugby Football Club at the age of 17. She had previously played field hockey, basketball, and softball at Burlington High School, and was encouraged to try rugby by her father, who played for Saint Michael's College. Maher played rugby during her first and only year at Norwich University. She was then recruited to join the Quinnipiac Bobcats after Quinnipiac coach Becky Carlson observed her during a match between the two schools. After transferring to Quinnipiac, Maher played center and won three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) championships. She was named to the NIRA All-American team all three years and received the MA Sorensen Award, given to the nation's top collegiate women's rugby player, in 2017. She was nominated for the award again after her senior season in 2018 and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NIRA Championships that year.
While still at Quinnipiac, Maher also played 7s for Scion Rugby Academy, where she impressed coaches Richie Walker and Emilie Bydwell, who selected her for the national rugby sevens team. Maher made her debut with the USA Rugby World Cup Sevens team in 2018 at a Women's SVNS tournament in Paris.
Maher was chosen to her first Olympic team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which was the sport's second appearance at the games. She scored three tries throughout the tournament as the United States finished in sixth place. While attending the Olympics, she posted several behind-the-scenes videos that went viral on TikTok. She was selected again to represent the United States at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, where she helped the national team reach the semifinals.
In 2023, she had a severe injury from a collision during a training session against a men's rugby team. She dislocated her tibia and broke her fibula. Her mother, a nurse, immediately flew out to help her through the injury. Initially, Maher was expected to be out for the rest of the 2023 season, but was able to get back in the game in time to help Team USA win gold at the Pan American Games.
Maher helped lead the United States to bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the country's first Olympic medal in the sport. She scored tries in all three of their group stage matches. After being eliminated by gold medalists New Zealand in the semifinals, the United States narrowly defeated Australia in the bronze medal match.

### Bristol Bears

In December 2024, she signed for Bristol Bears in Premiership Women's Rugby league in England on a three-month deal until the end of the season. Her contract officially began in January 2025. In response to unprecedented demand for tickets to see her debut, the fixture was moved from Shaftesbury Park, the regular home for the Bristol Bears Women to Ashton Gate to accommodate a larger capacity crowd. She made her debut for Bristol in the Premiership off the bench in a 40–17 home loss to Gloucester-Hartpury in front of a club record crowd of 9,240. The following game she scored her first try for the club, a 41–31 away victory against Exeter Chiefs Women.

## In the media

Maher has used her social media following to advocate body positivity and increased awareness of women's sports. In 2024, she was announced as a brand ambassador for Secret deodorant, as well as a skincare brand that she co-founded, Medalist. She is the most followed rugby player on Instagram.
In July 2024, she threw out the first pitch at a San Diego Padres game. In August 2024, she posed for the cover of the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated. In December 2024, she made the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

### Dancing with the Stars

In September 2024, Maher was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 33 of the reality television series Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Alan Bersten. She is the first rugby player to compete on the show, and the first female partner in Dancing with the Stars history to lift her male partner. They reached the finale and finished as the runners-up on November 26, 2024, behind The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson.
| Episode # | Dance / Song | Theme | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Result |
| Episode # | Dance / Song | Theme | Inaba | Hough | Guest | Tonioli | Result |
| 1 | Cha-cha / "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" | Premiere | 6 | 6 | | 6 | No elimination |
| 2 | Salsa / "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" | Oscars | 7 | 7 | | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Foxtrot / "Lady Marmalade" | Soul Train | 8 | 7 | 8$^1$ | 7 | No elimination |
| 4 | Jive / "Come On, Feel the Noise" | Heavy Metal | 7 | 6 | 7$^2$ | 6 | Safe |
| 5 | Rumba / "My Way" | Dedication | 8 | 8 | 8$^3$ | 8 | Safe |
| 6 | Jazz / "Surface Pressure" Team Freestyle (Team Goofs) / "I 2 I" | Disney | 9 9 | 8 9 | | 8 9 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango / "Psycho Killer" | Halloween Nightmares | 8 | 8 | | 8 | Safe |
| 8 | Quickstep / "Chuck Berry" Instant Salsa / "Da' Dip" | 500th Episode Celebration | 10 8 | 9 8 | | 9 8 | Safe |
| 9 Semi-finals | Paso doble / "Unholy" Viennese waltz / "Golden Hour" | Semi-finals | 9 10 | 10 9 | | 9 10 | No elimination |
| 10 Finals | Jive / "Shake a Tail Feather" Freestyle / "Femininomenon" | Finals | 9 10 | 9 10 | | 9 10 | Runners-up |
$^1$ Score awarded by guest judge Rosie Perez $^2$ Score awarded by guest judge Gene Simmons $^3$ Score awarded by guest judge Mark Ballas