Ilona Maher gets perplexed as her fan's love receives a special mention

Ilona Maher made her feelings known about witnessing her fans' love, receiving a special mention. The rugby player was featured as the cover star for the SI Swimsuit's September digital issue.

Maher is one of the most significant rugby players in the world and rose to fame after she and her team won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Following this, she again came under the spotlight by participating in the 33rd season of Dancing With the Stars, where she earned a second-place finish. After the conclusion of the show, she played for the Bristol Bears for a short-term deal.

Maher was last seen in action on May 17, 2025, competing in the Pacific Four rugby union match against Australia in Canberra. With all her endeavors, she has attained a prominent fan base, and most recently, she has received a special honor by being mentioned in the newspaper.

Maher shared a picture of the newspaper on her Instagram story, which showcased a column about how the player was loved by her fans. Perplexed with the mention, Maher dropped a four-word reaction that read:

"In the paper too?!"

A few days ago, Maher added a humorous anecdote amid her busy schedule, jokingly connecting her sleep schedule with teenagers who sleep a lot during their growth. She shared a selfie on her Instagram story and wrote:

"Morning I just slept for ten hours for like the fourth night in a row. Might be still growing. Who knows?"

Ilona Maher made her feelings known about fashion in sport

Ilona Maher opened up about the scope of fashion in sports in her recent episode of the House of Maher podcast. She revealed that in rugby, she didn't get a lot of opportunities to showcase her style, as she usually had to wear team jerseys.

"I think, like, whenever I get the chance to look put together, I try to use it because in my job it's like I'm never able to, you know, I'm wearing team-issued gear. I'm wearing jerseys and whatnot. I mean, we don't even do like, you know, how WNBA's gotten into, like doing their walks into games where they have style and get to show their personality. I think in our sport it's not really a thing," said Ilona Maher.

Opening up about dressing up for Bristol Bears for once, she added:

"Only recently for the Bristol Bears did we do a day where we got to dress up and walk into the stadium together, like walk in wearing our outfits. But I think style has been kind of like left out of rugby. And I think it's slowly making its way in because, as we know, style can be such a way to show your personality as well."

Ilona Maher also made her feelings known about shooting for SI Swimsuit magazine, stating that she got her personality back because of it.

About the author

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam