Rugby Sevens - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 4 - Source: Getty — Ilona Maher in action at the 2024 Paris Olympics | Getty

Gabby Thomas and Lindsey Vonn react to Olympic medalist Ilona Maher's hilarious Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photoshoot comparison

Modified Sep 08, 2024 08:01 GMT

Ilona Maher has gained attention for her recent photoshoot after the Paris Olympics. The rugby player, who contributed to the bronze medal for the USA in rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics, recently posed for Sports Illustrated magazine.

The Olympic bronze medalist recently added a couple of photos from the photoshoot to her Instagram account, with a hilarious twist.

Maher captioned the post,

"Swipe right and see if you can spot the difference."

The first two photos feature Maher posing. However, the third photo had famous actor Danny de Vito in an almost identical dress, leading to reactions from several fans and Olympians.

Olympic champion Gabby Thomas joined in the banter, commenting,

"Omg [Laughing emojis]"

Gabby Thomas and Lindsey Vonn react to Ilona Maher's post [Image Source: Instagram@ilonamaher]

Olympic skiing legend Lindsey Vonn reacted with laughing emojis to the post.

Maher contributed to a historic medal for the USA in the rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The USA won bronze in a closely-contested match, defeating Australia 14-12.

Ilona Maher and USA rugby sevens team's performance at the Paris Olympics

Ilona Maher [C] carrying the ball in the bronze medal match against Australia at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Ilona Maher was participating in her second consecutive Olympics in Paris. Rugby sevens was introduced at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the USA didn't win a medal in the sport in both Rio and Tokyo.

However, the USA broke the mold in Paris, with Ilona Maher contributing. Maher was the fourth-highest scorer for Team USA, with a total of 15 points in the six matches played, though she was ranked 30th overall. Alev Kelter was the highest scorer for Team USA, with a total of 21 points, while she was ranked 14th overall.

The USA stormed into the quarterfinals for the third consecutive time, and this time they pummeled Great Britain 17-7. However, in the semifinals, the USA faced defending Olympic champions New Zealand, who had bulldozed China by a mammoth score of 55-5 in the quarterfinals. The Americans turned out to be no match for them, New Zealand winning by a comfortable margin 24-12.

In the bronze medal match, the USA faced Australia, who had won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics 2016. The Australians took the early lead, but the USA bounced back to defeat the Australians by a close margin 14-12.