NBC Connecticut’s "Road to Paris" is counting down the days to the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics by highlighting local athletes who will represent Connecticut on the world stage this summer.
Every Monday at 5 p.m. from July 1 to July 22, we will introduce you to one of those athletes making the state proud.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Quinnipiac University graduate Ilona Maher proved to be the right person at the right place and the right time
“Everyone always tells me you’re unapologetically yourself,” said Maher. “I’m like, ‘What? What’s everyone else doing?’”
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There are a lot of words you could use to describe Maher. In fact, she’s seen a lot of people choose them for her.
“I don’t think we should be put in a box as women, as female athletes,” said Maher.
She’s fierce and she’s funny and she’s a force on the rugby pitch, but she has one word she wants to reclaim.
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“I always thought of big as a bad word,” said Maher, but the two-time Olympian for Team USA Rugby isn’t having any of it.
“When I went to the rugby pitch, people look at me and go, ‘Oh this is exciting, this big girl is here’,” said Maher. “And you wouldn’t get that from any other sport. Rugby I was really praised for what I was and there was a spot for me.”
Maher is taking “big” back with three more words of her own:
“My hashtag is beast, beauty, brains,” said Maher. “You can be a beast on the field, you can be beautiful and wear lipstick and wear a dress and you can also be very smart.”
Beast, beauty and brains, but never bashful. Not since she burst onto the social media scene at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“It was really cool,” said Maher of how her life changed seemingly overnight. “I remember I posted a TikTok where I had my teammates try out the cardboard beds and I just kind of knew, people are going to love this and I woke up and it had 2 million views.”
It started as an inside look at the Olympics at a time when COVID kept fans from attending, but it turned into just a look inside.
Maher is taking her new platform to elevate the double standard for female athletes and for women. Her posts are personal, not always pretty, not always perfect, and that’s the point.
“I was always very awkward,” said Maher. “As I’ve grown up, I learned that even the most popular girls are uncomfortable.”
Maher said that revelation has helped her embrace all that makes her unique: her beast, beauty and brains. But she’s hoping that her posts can help something else, too.
“Most of my teammates didn't even play rugby in college,” said Maher. “I'm one of the few.”
A rarity at Quinnipiac University: Maher could earn a nursing degree and a rugby national championship, the latter of which she earned three.
“Quinnipiac allowed me to do both and to do both well,” said Maher.
But Maher hopes that more eyes on her posts turn into more eyes on the pitch and more programs for the next generation of rugby players.
“My favorite posts to make are the ones with my teammates,” said Maher. “I also want them to take notice of my teammates and take notice of my team and my sports, get eyes on all of us because I think that's how were going to grow.”
Beast, beauty, brains and some big plans.
“I'm not just a role model for rugby players, I'm a role model for athletes and women in general,” said Maher. “If it means I’m going to do a lot of videos of me wearing makeup and then being a boss on the field I just think constantly showing that, I'm never going to stop showing that.”
Team USA Women’s Rugby Sevens opens up its Olympic schedule on July 28 against Japan.
