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US Olympic star Ilona Maher reveals who she's backing between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in the Presidential election
Already the world's most-followed rugby player on Instagram, Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher is no stranger to making a name for herself in a primarily male arena.
It's something she'd like to see in Washington, too.
'I think it's going to be cool because there is an opportunity to have female representation and to change this country in a way that I think will benefit us,' the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model told SI following her revealing beachside pictorial.
Asked if that means she's endorsing Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in November's election, Maher responded succinctly: 'That's a Kamala Harris endorsement.'
No, Maher isn't supporting the Harris-Walz ticket strictly because it's being headlined by a woman.
Ilona Maher recently posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover (pictured)
The 27-year-old Vermont native was among the breakout stars of the 2024 Paris Olympics
Instead the Vermont native is an outspoken proponent of abortion access and reproductive rights – an issue that Trump has struggled to overcome during this election cycle.
'I have enough money that if I didn't need an abortion, I could raise a baby myself. If I wanted to get abortion, I could do that,' Maher said. 'So I have that privilege [but] it scares me about the other girls. I have options and I want to remember that, my followers don't all have that. And so it's like for me, but also mostly for them.'
Maher opened up on a number of other issues with SI.
Like female athletes around the world, she's critical of the gender pay gap in sports.
'[Men] get to play rugby and they get paid millions of dollars while we make minimum wage and this won't be a career for us,' she said. 'I have teammates going into the workforce now, whereas these guys are down there and rugby's it [for them].'
Maher, who first shot to stardom three years ago by using her wicked sense of humor to document behind-the-scenes life at the Tokyo Olympics, helped lead the U.S. to the bronze medal at the Paris Games with a heart-stopping finish in a 14-12 victory over Australia. The bronze medal match ended with Alex 'Spiff' Sedrick scoring on a length-of-the-field try as time expired, then putting a kick through the uprights.
Maher fends Emma Uren #7 of the Great Britain Women's National Team during the Paris games
Maher's tear-filled interview after the match was enough to make any American want to run through a wall for the 27-year-old Vermont native who has both a nursing degree and a masters in business but really just wants to play rugby and promote the sport to girls across the world.
She also wants to spread body positivity, which is something she's come to embrace.
'I was always like, you know, called masculine or whatever,' she told SI. 'But I never felt that way. But I don't think you're going to bully the girl who could probably beat you up in a rage. I love that [rugby] showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and it's not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.'
Maher, who uses the the hashtag #beastbeautybrains on social media, became the most-followed rugby player on Instagram during these Games with 2 million followers . She has 1.9 million followers on TikTok .
She has continued to document life at the Olympics and called the Athlete's Village 'The Villa' in a nod to 'Love Island' (she watches the British version, and thinks she could be on the show but 'wouldn´t be a bombshell'). But her biggest impact has been her messages of body positivity and a 2-month-old post resurfaced this week in which she clapped-back at a commenter who mocked her for having a body mass index (BMI) of 30.
'I think you were trying to roast me, but this actually is a fact. I do have a BMI of 30 - well, 29.3 to be more exact,' Maher said on TikTok. 'I´ve been considered overweight my whole life.'
Maher carries the ball during the Bronze Final rugby 7 match between USA and Australia
She revealed she weighs 200 pounds (90 kilograms) and is 5-foot-10 (178 centimeters): the two measurements used to calculate BMI. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered in the overweight range, and a BMI of 30 and above is considered obese.
Maher said she was humiliated by the label, particularly when she turned in paperwork from a high school physical that labeled her overweight.
'I was so embarrassed to turn that in and have that written there,' Maher said in the TikTok. 'My whole life, I´ve been this way.'
She said she was surprised that 'body-positive posts posted months, a couple of years ago, weeks ago' have resurfaced, but that its an important message for her to deliver.
'It's just like I always preach, and it is really important for me to constantly preach because the message never stops and young girls have to be like, `Oh, man, OK, I feel great about my body,'' she said. 'I love it. It has to be a constant stream. I think there's this idea about what female athletes are and this need to be lean and fit. But, no, there's athletes of all shapes and sizes competing at the Olympics.'
Team USA rugby olympian Ilona Maher during an interview with host Seth Meyers on August 12
Sally Horrox, World Rugby´s director of women´s rugby, said Maher is an 'unprecedented' athlete who will help rugby grow.
'She´s not following anyone. She is leading the way,' Horrox told The Associated Press. 'That profile in the States and her global profile growing, that will do wonders for rugby and for women´s sport. She speaks so powerfully about what rugby has done for her in terms of body self-confidence, body image, opportunity and she wants that for girls, in particular, and if it happens to be rugby, great.
'But she´ll talk about that purpose and the value of sport and health and lifestyle, and she´ll do that outside of the rugby arena. I´m really impressed, and she should be very proud of what she´s doing.'
Her teammates all share the same passion for Maher's messaging. Sammy Sullivan, who took up rugby at West Point, where she graduated in 2020 and is an active Army captain, said the biggest stereotype women rugby players have to fight is that they can't be girly girls.
'People see us as having a lack of femininity, and I think it's the complete opposite,' Sullivan said. 'I think strength and power and aggression can be feminine and can be beautiful if you want it to be. Our team is the epitome of that. All of us show our femininity in different ways and that's something beautiful behind the women of U.S. rugby.'