Ilone Maher is on a mission. The Team USA Olympic rugby medalist represents her country and her sport. And on Dancing With The Stars, the DWTS contestant also wants to showcase her strong, feminine body.
Maher and the women’s rugby team from the United States won a first-ever medal at the Summer Olympics, in Paris, a bronze medal.
Now she wants to take her persona and her body to DWTS and showcase women like herself
“I think it’ll just show what I’ve been trying to say, which is female athletes are so much more than their sport, so much more than the stereotypes that they’re put in with the sport,” Maher said at a recent DWTS press line, according to Entertainment Weekly. “It’s so awesome to show what my body type can do, and how beautiful it can be in all sorts of spaces.”
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Olympics rugby star Ilona Maher brought to tears by sexist attacks, being called a man
Ilona Maher has been an Olympic hero in Paris, yet she and other female athletes struggle with attacks calling them men.
By Cyd Zeigler | August 1, 2024
“That’s how you make some noise!” Maher said shortly after her ABC ‘Dancing With The Stars’ debut.
During the Paris Olympics, Maher talked about the pain that attacks on her and her body had on herself.
“I get comments being called a man and being called masculine and asking if i’m on steroids,” Maher said at the time. “There will always be negative peopel 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.”
Ilona Maher represents the best of women, strong and unwilling to bend despite nonsense attacks.
While she is not LGBTQ (at least, she’s not out), Outsports supports her in everything she’s trying to accomplish for women.
