{"id":136148,"date":"2024-12-03T06:55:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T06:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/what-is-ilona-maher-doing-after-dwts-olympian-announces-rugby-return\/"},"modified":"2024-12-03T06:55:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T06:55:06","slug":"what-is-ilona-maher-doing-after-dwts-olympian-announces-rugby-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/what-is-ilona-maher-doing-after-dwts-olympian-announces-rugby-return\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Ilona Maher Doing After DWTS? Olympian Announces Rugby Return"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Ilona Maher<\/span> Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ilona Maher<\/strong><\/a> is returning to the sport that made her famous.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maher, 28, announced on Monday, December 2, that she\u2019s joined the Bristol Bears, a top-tier women\u2019s rugby club in Bristol, England. The previous week, the athlete placed second in the Dancing With the Stars<\/i> finale, losing to ex-Bachelor star Joey Graziadei<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She revealed her exciting news with a video on Instagram<\/a>, sporting a blue and white Bears uniform as she said she was \u201cso excited to join the Bristol Bears and play premiership women\u2019s rugby with and against some of the best rugby players in the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She added that she\u2019s \u201clooking forward to calling Bristol home as we gear up for rugby World Cup 2025 played here in England.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maher\u2019s professional statement is interspersed with footage of outtakes where she displays the goofy humor that\u2019s made her a social media star.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre there actually bears here? Because I don\u2019t know what to \u2026 are grizzly bears the nice ones? Black bears are the mean ones right?,\u201d Maher asked the silent crew filming her.<\/span><\/p>\n

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She next wanted to know, \u201cis it gonna be this cold the whole time? It\u2019s a little, little chilly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maher also jokingly inquired about whether she\u2019d receive a \u201croast\u201d after signing with the team.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Simone Biles, Ilona Maher and Suni Lee’s TikToks Deserve Medals\u00a0<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tOne surefire way to stand out among the 10,000 or so athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics is by winning a medal or three, but others are getting attention by becoming total TikTok legends instead \u2014 or, in many cases, as well! We vividly recall a time when we didn\u2019t know much about the personalities [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, she received a wave of congratulations in the comment section of her video post.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLETS GOOOOO <\/span>\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffd<\/span>,\u201d Graziadei, 29, wrote, echoing praise from Dancing With the Stars<\/i> finalist Chandler Kinney<\/strong>, who gushed \u201cLETS GO LO!!!!!!!!!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Alan Bersten<\/strong>, Maher\u2019s dance partner on the show, said: \u201c<\/span>I\u2019m so proud of you. And can\u2019t wait to see you kill it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maher previously dedicated<\/span><\/a> one of their performances <\/span>to her U.S. Women\u2019s National Rugby Sevens teammates, with whom she took home a bronze medal<\/span><\/a> at the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Who Is Ilona Maher? Meet the TikTok-Famous Team USA Rugby Star<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tMike Coppola\/Getty Images Olympian Ilona Maher has made an impression for her rugby talent and for her hot takes online. Maher, 27, started playing rugby in high school before making a name for herself as a collegiate athlete. She eventually caught the attention of coaches Richie Walker and Emilie Bydwell, who chose her to join [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEveryone asks me about how, \u2018Oh, how did you get to be so confident? How did you get to be this way? What you do for women is so amazing.\u2019 And I just answer that the reason is because of them,\u201d Maher said in October. \u201cAnd when you\u2019re around a group of women like that who make you feel so empowered, so beautiful, it translates and it affects you and it changes other people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maher said Monday in an interview with The Guardian<\/i><\/span><\/a> that she had reached out to several elite English rugby clubs at the end of 2023. While she was competing on DWTS<\/i>, Bristol contacted her and helped secure a visa so she could play for the Bears.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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