"I've always had broad shoulders and a 6 pack" - Riley Gaines reacts to female Olympic athlete Ilona Maher being compared to '80's Brooke Shields'

By Puneet Tripathi

Modified Jul 31, 2024 13:34 GMT

Riley Gaines, a seven-time Tennessee State swimming champion, commented on a fan's post on X (formerly Twitter) saying her athletic physique and broad shoulders benefited her in her swimming career. Gaines was replying to a post that showed a video of USA Rugby Olympian Ilona Maher.

Two-time Olympian rugby player Maher gained international visibility at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 when she shared parts of her off-field personality through social media. She has a significant social media following, numbering 1.9 million followers.

Gaines tweeted on the post featuring a video of Maher dancing at the Paris Olympics 2024 to Olivia Rodrigo's song 'So American.' Along with the video, the post said, "Olympics athlete Ilona Maher is being compared to 80s Brooke Shields." Gaines commented,

"Comments didn't pass the vibe check. You know athletes bodies have to serve them in their sports, right??? Being an elite swimmer, I've always had broad shoulders and a 6 pack but it doesn't make me any less woman (laughing emoji)."

Shields is an iconic actress from the '80s, featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1981, titled "The ’80s Look". She essayed Jupiter Award-winning roles in two movies, "The Blue Lagoon" (1980) and "Endless Love" (1981).

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All about Riley Gaines' swimming career

Riley Gaines at an NCAA Swimming competition (Image via Getty)

Kentucky standout Riley Gaines is known for her impressive performance both academically and athletically. She was named the 2022 Southeastern Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year and scored a 3.876 CGPA as a health sciences major.

In 2019, Gaines started her swimming career by joining the University of Kentucky's team, and in the same year, she made it to the All-SEC freshman Team. The Gallatin, Tennessee native led the Wildcats to a silver medal in the 800m free relay at the 2021 NCAA Championship.

She was part of the roster that claimed their first conference championship title in 2021, where she won gold medals in the 200m freestyle and 800m freestyle relay.

Gaines' leadership in the pool was so good that she was named team captain twice. At the 2022 NCAA championship finals, Gaines and Lia Thomas finished at the same time. However, the referee announced Thomas as the fifth-place finisher, and Gaines had to settle for sixth. Gaines has not participated in the sport in a competitive outing following this controversial moment with Thomas.