Olympian Ilona Maher has some choice words for anyone who claims she “looks pregnant” in her form-fitting attire.
“A guy recently commented on a picture of me and said, ‘You look pregnant in that dress.’ And he deleted his comment because I had a great comeback, but I wanted to do it again for you all,” Maher, 29, said in a video shared via TikTok on Saturday, January 10.
“So to him I say, that’s just a normal woman’s body,” the Olympian continued in the post, while showing off a form-fitting orange dress that showcased her arms and hugged her curves. “You probably haven’t seen a woman naked in a long time, if ever, and I hope you never get the privilege to again.”
She added, “Because that’s just how we are, OK? That’s just what we’re working with. Me? A professional athlete. I always have this. It’s just part of me — I’m sucking it in right now and I have it. So please, please, stop commenting the dumbest stuff.”
Maher, who helped the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team win bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics — the country’s first Olympic medal in rugby sevens — is no stranger to people making unwarranted, unwanted and unnecessary comments about her body and overall look.
“I was always like, you know, called masculine or whatever,” Maher told Sports Illustrated in her 2024 cover story. “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 further opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about her view on body positivity amid a sea of online trolls, explaining how she continues to view her body and what it can — and does — do for her.
@ilonamaher It’s too important a message not to share again.
“[It’s] realizing what your body does for you and giving it the tools it needs to continue doing that,” the rugby player exclusively told Us earlier this month. “You’re not going to love your body all the time. [But] for a lot of us, that’s the size we’re supposed to be, and I think we have to come to terms with that.”
Charlotte H. Market, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Rutgers University and author of The Body Image book, broke down for Us just what Maher’s body positive viewpoint means for fans and fellow young female athletes alike.
Sports Illustrated/Ben Watts Ilona Maher was a sexy sight to see while posing on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The Olympian, 28, graced Us with her steamy photoshoot while appearing on SI Swimsuit’s digital September issue, empowered by Maybelline, on Wednesday, August 28. Photographed by Ben Watts on Fire Island, New York, Maher showed […]
“Maher doesn’t try to fit into the beauty ideals that many of us feel beholden to,” Markey told Us earlier this month. “Her pride in her strength is wonderful to see. We need more messengers that say, ‘F what is expected of me as a woman! I am strong and tough and don’t need to fit the mold.’ The more people who say this, the easier it will be for us to believe.”
Lexie Kite, Ph.D. and coauthor of More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament, agreed, telling Us earlier this month, “Seeing women be powerful and strong and break free from the notion that we exist to be looked at is life-giving!”
