Team USA Rugby Star Ilona Maher Poses for ‘SI Swimsuit’ With Olympic Medal

More than half of the medals the U.S. won at the Paris Olympics were won by women, including breakthrough rugby star Ilona Maher. Now, in a new interview and swimsuit photoshoot, the Vermont native opens up about her journey to success and her relationship with her body.

Maher took off her underwear to pose for the September cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuitwearing a variety of bikinis while posing on the beach. In some photos, her Olympic bronze medal is the star of the show as she proudly shows off the bling she and her teammates worked so hard to earn.

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These Olympics have been plagued by accusations against two female boxers, with prominent media figures wrongly questioning their gender identity. Maher has not been immune to similar criticism of her body. Yet she has never let it get to her, either in recent weeks or as a young person.

“I was always, you know, called masculine or something,” she said. “But I never felt that way. But I don’t think you’re going to bully the girl who you can probably beat up in a rage. I think it’s great that (rugby) showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and that it’s not just a tool to look at and objectify.”

“I’m considered overweight (according to BMI),” she added. “But unfortunately, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not.”

Related: Olympic Rugby Player Ilona Maher Gives Powerful Lesson on BMI and Health

Time will tell whether she will go for victory again, this time in her home country, the US, when the 2028 Olympic Games are held in Los Angeles.