Ilona Maher's had quite the year.
Maher gained a huge social media following during the 2024 Paris Olympics when she competed on Team USA's women's rugby team. Team USA captured a bronze medal in women's rugby, which was the country's first medal in the sport. She promoted self love and body positivity, while also cracking jokes and making her fans laugh through social media posts. Maher's personal motto is “Beast Beauty Brains.”
After her popularity soared from the Olympics, Maher was featured as SI Swim's cover star for the September digital issue. She got to pose with her Olympic bronze medal in the shoot. Her appearance in the 2025 Swimsuit edition will mark her second time posing for Sports Illustrated.
Since then, Maher's created an even bigger platform for herself. She competed on Dancing With the Stars last fall alongside professional dancer Alan Bersten. The duo came in second place behind Bachelor star Joey Graziadei.
After that, Maher returned to rugby to join the Bristol Bears in the Premiership Women's Rugby league in the United Kingdom. She most recently competed in a match between Team USA and Team Canada at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium. They broke the women's rugby attendance number by drawing in 10,518 fans to the game.
Maher just continues to make history. Check her out in the 2025 SI Swimsuit edition dropping on May 13.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ilona Maher Waltzes Back to Make Her Second SI Swim Appearance.
