Ilona Maher

Ilona Delsing Rosa Maher OLY (/ɪˈloʊnə ˈmɑːr/ il-OH-nə MAR; born August 12, 1996)[2] is an American rugby union player.

[11] Maher's older sister, Olivia, is a social media content creator who is known for coining the term "girl dinner" on TikTok.

[12] Maher and her sisters started playing "high-level" sports such as field hockey, basketball and Little League softball at a young age.

[10] During the spring of her senior year at Burlington High School, Maher grew tired with softball and was encouraged by her father to play rugby.

[17] She was named to the NIRA All-American team all three years and received the MA Sorensen Award, given to the nation's top collegiate women's rugby player, in 2017.

[21] Maher made her debut with the USA Rugby World Cup Sevens team in 2018 at a Women's SVNS tournament in Paris.

[17][23] She was selected again to represent the United States at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, where she helped the national team reach the semifinals.

[3] In response to unprecedented demand for tickets to see her debut, the fixture was moved from Shaftesbury Park, the regular home for the Bristol Bears Women to Ashton Gate to accommodate a larger capacity crowd.

[37] In September 2024, Maher was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 33 of the reality television series Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Alan Bersten.