During the electrifying atmosphere of the 2024 Paris Olympics, United States women’s rugby sevens player Ilona Maher captured the hearts of millions and swiftly transformed into a household name. Armed with her powerful athletic prowess, unfiltered personality, and a relentless commitment to positive body image, Maher became one of the defining breakout stars of the summer games. Yet, despite the whirlwind of global attention, high-profile media opportunities, and massive cultural influence that followed, Maher insists that the sudden fame has not fundamentally altered who she is at her core.
Reflecting on her meteoric rise to mainstream celebrity, Maher offers a grounded perspective on the changes in her life. "I think for some people when they get famous, maybe it changes who they are and who they believe themselves to be," Maher shares in an interview with Muscle & Fitness. "I just never found that to be me. I think I’m kind of a similar person I was before the Paris Olympics."
For Maher, however, the cultural phenomenon sparked in Paris was merely the beginning of an extraordinary journey. Following the conclusion of the Olympic games, where she helped lead the USA women’s rugby sevens team to a historic bronze medal, her presence transcended traditional sports media. She soon found herself posing proudly on the cover of Sports Illustrated, showcasing her formidable physique and challenging conventional standards of female athleticism.
The momentum continued as Maher stepped completely outside of her athletic comfort zone to compete on the grueling season of Dancing with the Stars, captivating a massive new audience with her grace, humor, and determination. Alongside her television appearance, she launched a highly successful podcast and secured lucrative, high-profile partnerships with major global brands, including Maybelline New York, Adidas, and Burn Boot Camp. In a remarkably short span, Maher evolved from an elite international rugby player into a multi-hyphenate cultural icon, influencer, and advocate for women’s strength.
Despite her ubiquitous presence across television screens, magazine covers, and social media feeds, a glaring paradox remains at the heart of Maher’s immense popularity: very few of her passionate fans are actually watching her compete on the rugby pitch that originally made her a celebrity.
Rather than expressing frustration toward fans for not tuning into her sport, Maher places the responsibility on the current landscape of professional rugby broadcasting and infrastructure. "Honestly, it doesn’t frustrate me because we don’t have enough places for them to watch rugby," Maher explains. "So I would tell you to watch rugby. I could tell you there’s games on this weekend, but it’s not like you tune into one game, then I’ll keep watching that team."
Sports industry analysts have drawn frequent comparisons between Maher’s impact on women’s rugby and the transformative effect that superstar Caitlin Clark has had on the WNBA and women’s collegiate basketball. Much like Clark, Maher has been widely credited with putting her sport back on the map, sparking renewed public interest, and significantly boosting ticket sales wherever she goes. Yet, the logistical hurdles of following international rugby remain a formidable barrier for casual sports fans looking to support their new favorite athlete.
"That’s where it’s hard for me is that there’s really not a lot of opportunities to watch the game," Maher elaborates, highlighting the global travel demands inherent to the international rugby sevens circuit. "And when they want to watch me play—a lot of people would love to watch me play, but I play in places like South Africa and then I go to Perth. So if you want to wake up at 4 in the morning to watch me play the first two minutes of a game…"
Maher Finds Ways to Balance Fame with Commitment to Team USA
Though Maher admits that the scarcity of accessible broadcast options is a difficult reality to accept, she refuses to let the structural limitations of her sport discourage her. Instead, she remains profoundly hopeful and vocal about the future of rugby, envisioning a time when the sport captures the domestic audience it deserves.
"It’s a very tough thing in that I want to get more people in. I think more people should be in, but there we need more opportunities or need more things for [fans], games and in terms for them to be able to watch that are on home soil, too," Maher says.
Currently based in San Diego, the tenacious athlete has firmly set her sights on the horizon, specifically targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. Because her ultimate athletic ambitions are tied directly to representing Team USA on home soil, Maher meticulously plans every aspect of her bustling media and entertainment schedule around her rigorous national team training obligations.
"We have meetings throughout the day and rehab and stretching to ramp the body up and whatnot," Maher explains, detailing the daily reality of an elite Olympian. "I have to do whatever timing my team says. I’m not an individual athlete that can build my life around my podcast. I have to build the podcast and everything else around my training life, I have to be in the gym at 8 a.m. with all the girls. It’s not worth it to miss a day of training when maybe something else will come up, because I do think I’m a team athlete through and through."
While Maher acknowledges that her obligations to her teammates and coaches must always take precedence, she also recognizes the vital necessity of maintaining a delicate balance. Sustaining public interest and keeping fans engaged in the sport leading up to the upcoming Olympic games requires her unique media platform, making her off-field ventures an essential component of her professional life.
"If my girls are grinding, I want to be out there grinding with them and not just taking the easy road," Maher notes. "But it is important for me to also focus on things like the podcasts or speaking, because that’s how I financially live the life I do."
The sheer volume of external demands has reached a point where Maher has had to make difficult choices to protect her time, her energy, and her primary athletic pursuits. She openly admits that her massive surge in popularity has forced her to turn down numerous high-profile opportunities in order to stay fully dedicated to the sport she loves.
"I have to say no to a lot of opportunities," Maher says. "I will get invited to this cool event and I just have to pick my battles."
Maher is Hoping Rugby Finds More Opportunities for Fans to Watch
Even as her newfound fame creates what she describes as a "pretty hefty schedule," Maher’s rigorous physical training regime remains the unwavering anchor of her daily life. Her exhaustive preparation for international competition goes far beyond standard athletic workouts, consisting of two daily on-field sessions complemented by intensive gym work designed to maximize speed, agility, and fundamental rugby skills. During her heavy training blocks, Maher can accumulate up to 20,000 steps of running per day, pushing her cardiovascular and muscular endurance to the absolute limit.
This high-octane aerobic and tactical work is paired with four dedicated days in the weightroom each week, where the focus shifts toward developing explosive power and raw strength. On the rare days when she is not actively training on the field or lifting heavy in the gym, Maher utilizes the time for structured physical recovery and therapeutic bodywork, ensuring her body is thoroughly prepped to repeat the grueling cycle all over again the following week.
For Maher, the physical demands of her training are not a burden, but rather an arena where she genuinely thrives. She expresses a deep passion for pushing her physical limits in the weight room, particularly when tackling compound movements like squats and bench presses that provide a tangible measure of her progress.
"I like the ones where you really get to like to test yourself and see how much more you can do," Maher says.
Despite operating at the absolute pinnacle of professional and international sport, Maher retains an infectious enthusiasm for the small, personal victories that happen behind closed doors in the gym. For her, the joy of training often comes down to micro-progressions and moments of self-discovery under the barbell.
"I do love dumbbell incline bench press," Maher explains, detailing her favorite training movements. "Where you do a weight and then you’re like, ‘I think I can do a little more weight!’ and you put a little more weight and you did and you’re like, ‘OK, I can do a little more weight.’ Those are the moments where I really love being in the gym."
Away from the intense environment of the rugby pitch and the weight room, Maher remains acutely aware that girls and young women across the country are looking to her for guidance, inspiration, and empowerment. Recognizing the profound impact of her platform, she recently partnered with Burn Boot Camp to help spread their message regarding inclusive, high-intensity 45-minute fitness classes designed to build physical and mental strength.
The partnership felt like a natural extension of her personal mission, sparked by observations of real women supporting one another through challenging workouts. "I just watched it and the energy and the way that these women came to this class, so excited to be there," Maher says. "They were high-fiving each other and they were getting stronger and it was the sort of community that I’m trying to foster and I think create, and that’s why I decided to work with this brand. Because I have so many girls who message me saying, ‘I wanna get strong. I wanna be strong like you. I just don’t know where to start and I’m intimidated by the gym.’"
