What you should know about Dancing With the Stars favorite Ilona Maher

Olympian-turned-pop culture sensation Ilona Maher has taken the internet and television screens by storm this year, capturing the minds and hearts of sports fans, dance lovers and social media users alike.

Originally known as a center for the United States national rugby sevens team, Maher helped bring home bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Thanks to her online presence, Maher gained a new level of fame.

Proving she could flex her funny muscles alongside her medal-winning looks, she amassed millions of followers thanks to her trendy, humorous posts and advocacy for women in sports.

Now, with the “Dancing With the Stars” semifinals approaching, Maher has her sights set on another win to close out 2024, this time with dance partner Alan Bersten by her side.

Here’s what you should know about Olympian and “Dancing With the Stars” semifinalist Ilona Maher.

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Who is Ilona Maher?

Ilona Delsing Rosa Maher is an American rugby union player. Maher, now 28, began her rugby career at the age of 17 with the South Burlington School Rugby Football Club in Burlington, Vermont.

After a brief stint at Norwich University, she was appointed to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, where she received numerous awards, including three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) championship victories, the prestigious MA Sorensen Award, and the title of “Most Outstanding Player” at the NIRA Championships.

She graduated with a degree in nursing in 2018 and received a master’s degree in business administration from DeVry University in 2022.

She was recruited to the US national rugby sevens team and made her debut at a women’s SVNS tournament in Paris in 2018. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where the U.S. women’s sevens team took home bronze.

Ilona Maher’s social media star

At her first Olympics, Maher experienced her first taste of internet virality and gained popularity through her social media posts. At the 2024 Olympics, her fame exploded into pop culture as she gained fans not only thanks to her humorous contributions to the latest trends and memes, but also because of her embrace of body shaming and her passion for body positivity and women’s sports.

In one of her wildly popular posts she shared on TikTok on July 10, she addressed a comment criticizing her weight: “I bet this person has a BMI of 30%,” suggesting that Maher was overweight.

“I think you wanted to upset me, but that’s actually a fact. I have a BMI of 30. Well, 29.3 to be exact. “I’ve been considered ‘overweight’ my whole life,” Maher began her gossip, amassing 8.4 million views.

After explaining the intricacies of BMI and being told by her nutritionist that it is not a helpful measurement for athletes, she ended by saying, “I have a BMI of 30, I am considered overweight. But unfortunately I’m going to the Olympics,” and that’s not you.

With dozens of TikTok posts averaging 1.5 million to 17 million views and a following of 3.1 million, Maher has also become a favorite on Instagram, where she has 4.3 million followers.

In September, Maher appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a swimsuit with the tagline “Beast. Beauty. Brains.”

During her tenure on “Dancing With the Stars,” her segments have veered from behind-the-scenes footage of the Olympic Village to behind-the-scenes looks at her performances and routines with Bursten. The couple has become a fan favorite. Many comments said the duo inspired them to tune in to the show for the first time in years.

Ilona Maher on “Dancing With the Stars”

As of this week, Maher and Bersten reached the semifinals. In addition to embracing their goofy sides to win personality votes, the dance duo have also attracted attention by using Maher’s stature to their advantage (she’s 5-foot-10 and weighs 200 pounds) and with lifting techniques and other acrobatic maneuvers Gender role reversal involves movements that are normally performed with the male dance partner as the base.

Maher often throws Bersten over her shoulder or lifts him high into the air in impressive maneuvers, receiving particular praise when she does so in high heels. The duo is known not only for their alternating flips and dips, but also for their deep friendship behind the scenes and explosive chemistry on stage.

Maher received recognition not only for her progress and technique throughout the season, but also for wearing stunning costumes that showcased her strength and athleticism as well as her beauty and femininity.

In a wildly popular dance for the Disney evening, Maher dressed as “Encanto” character Luisa Madrigal, whose gift in the film is physical strength. Dancing to the character’s song from the film “Surface Pressure,” Maher’s performance sparked viral fan reactions online. Some said they cried watching her performance, while others thanked her for “doing it right for every little girl who just wanted to be.” strong AND beautiful!!”

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