TikTok’s favorite Olympian is back on the world stage, and she’s once again showing millions of viewers a glimpse into what life’s like in the Olympic Village.
Ilona Maher, a member of the U.S. women’s rugby team, brought her niche sport into the limelight three years ago when she shot to internet fame documenting her candid, sometimes awkward experience at the Tokyo Olympics.
Now, having amassed more than 1.6 million followers on TikTok and 1.5 million on Instagram, Maher is in Paris sharing her newfound appreciation for handball, poking fun at her own clumsy attempts at flirting, and showing off her opening ceremony outfit. Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce also appeared in one of Maher’s videos, in which he declares his love for women’s rugby.”I knew that if I kept this up, got people watching me on TikTok, they’d also tune in to my sport,” Maher, 27, told NBC News’ Savannah Sellers in an interview.
At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, the rugby star drew in millions with her series testing out the athletes’ notorious cardboard beds — such as by performing yoga on it, doing burpees on it and giving birth to a teammate. She further captivated viewers with her impression of what it’s like making small talk and struggling to flirt with other Olympians, as well as her raving over the deep-fried cheese in the Olympic Village.
Viewers who tuned in to Maher’s videos often thanked her for “carrying” Olympic TikTok with her facetious updates, with some expressing a sudden interest in women’s rugby after watching her content. The athlete also attracted praise from the likes of internet star Hank Green, who tagged Maher in a 2021 video saying he was “hyped for women’s rugby sevens this year.”
Maher, raised in Vermont, first tried rugby her senior year of high school before going on to play at Quinnipiac University, where she graduated in 2018 with a nursing degree. She joined USA Rugby right after college, and this year will be her second experience competing in the Olympics.
Outside of sharing snippets of her life as an elite athlete, Maher has also been vocal online about body acceptance, sharing that she has often received comments calling her body “masculine” because of her muscular build.
“There will always be negative people out there and they put women in a box, and they think women should be fragile and petite and quiet and meek, but that’s not the case,” Maher said through tears in a 2022 video. “Women can be strong, and they can have broad shoulders and they can take up space and they can be big.”
The athlete has continued circulating her message in the Olympic Village this month, including by sharing a reminder about the diversity of body types seen among Olympians and by showing off how she fuels her body.
She also shared earlier this month that she has been considered overweight her whole life by body mass index standards, but that this form of measurement doesn’t relay how much muscle an individual has or how fit they are as an athlete.
“So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30%. I am considered overweight,” she said in a video replying to an Instagram comment. “But alas, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not.”
