" I ’m so beaming you exist . "
Ilona Maher shared an honest post about what it feels like to wear a bikini with her body type, and fans can’t help but admire how far her confidence has come.
For those who don’t know her, Ilona is an Olympian who helped the US Women’s Rugby Sevens teamtake home the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was a historic moment because it was the first time the US Women’s team won a medal in Rugby Sevens.
She garnered a lot of attention on social media, specificallyTikTok, after sharing behind-the-scenes details about the Olympics and perfectly displaying her fun personality. Ilona was also praised for how vulnerable she’d get with her fans about body image and learning to love the skin she’s in.
She continued the positivity earlier this week after announcing she was going to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s iconic swimsuit issue for the second time. She was first featured in2024as their September digital cover issue model.
“Thank you to@si_swimsuitfor once again letting me showcase my strong, powerful body and for making me feel so beautiful,” she wrote on one post.
“For young Ilona wearing a bikini was once unthinkable but now I’d actually prefer to be prancing around in one. Stay sexy, folks.” The video was made up of a compilation of clips of her in various bikinis while she sang the viral song “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” by Role Model, and played on the beach.
The 28-year-old athlete felt empowered to show that being strong is still sexy, especially when society tends to deem women with muscular physiques as less feminine and attractive. It’s clear Ilona is hoping to change that narrative by ensuring the world knows beauty comes in many forms.
And that energy definitely transferred over to her fans, who were grateful to see her posts:
As many commenters reflected on how they wished they had someone like Ilona to look up to growing up, it reminded me of a sweet video message she sent to ayoung girl who was dealing with weight insecuritiesafter she had listed her weight on her field trip permission slip, only to somehow realize she weighed “more than all of her friends.” The pre-teen wrote Ilona a letter, and Ilona responded, revealing how much she once related to her.
“I was always a bigger girl in sixth grade,” Ilona explained in the video. “I remember I was 130 pounds and I never understood why am I always bigger than everybody? I didn’t get that, but now I’ve realized this is my body, and my body is meant to be big and powerful and strong. And I think that’s the same with you as well.”
“So really recognize that and appreciate it because I’m gonna be honest, Georgia, this is it,” Ilona continued. “This is the body you got and this is the body you gotta love. Thank you so much for your support. It means so much to me to see and to know that I may be affecting people in a good way.”
And this is why representation matters! We love to see it.
For more Ilona , you’re able to find the 2025Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issuewhen it hits newsstands in May .
