Ireland v United States - 2024 Paris Olympics: Training Scrimmage - Source: Getty — Ilona Maher helped the US women's rugby to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

"Not for me but all the girls coming to the program" - Ilona Maher pens emotional message as she aims to inspire generations after Paris Olympics

Modified Sep 29, 2024 06:58 GMT

Olympic medalist Ilona Maher recently made an emotional confession, which is going viral all over the social media. She shared a clip from the Paris Olympics, where she talked about the importance of her jersey, and how she wishes to inspire future generations to make USA proud in this discipline.

Maher helped the American women's rugby win their first-ever Olympic medal in Paris. The 28-year-old scored 15 points throughout the tournament and had three ties.

Maher recently posted a reel on her Instagram account, where she revealed her inspiration for the historic performance at the Paris Olympics. She captioned the post as,

"I talk a lot but this may be some of the best things I’ve said."

The reel showed an emotional Ilona Maher talking about the importance of wearing the national jersey and the impact her performance will make on the coming generations. She said,

"In rugby we say we're just passing through the jersey and making the jersey better, and that's always been my goal to make this jersey better not just for me before the other girls are going to come into the program, and I want them to have be to dream of being professional rugby players, professional athletes. That's what I feel like I'm giving them and even if this is my last rugby game I hope that there's there's space for them to grow and thrive and experience this because I got to."

Ilona Maher on leaving a legacy off the field

Ilona Maher at the rehearsals for 'Dancing with the Stars' [Image Source: Getty]

Ilona Maher wants to create an everlasting legacy off the field.The rugby player has recently joined the 33rd season of the dance reality television show 'Dancing with the Stars', alongside Olympic double medalist Stephen Nedoroscik. In an interview with the Entertainment Weekly, Ilona Maher was crystal clear about her approach as she said,

"I think it'll just show what I've been trying to say, which is female athletes are so much more than their sport, so much more than the stereotypes that they're put in with the sport."

That's not all. Only weeks after the Paris Olympics, Maher had done a photoshoot in a swimsuit for the Sports Illustrated Magazine, which was supported by many athletes, including Olympic champions Gabby Thomas and Lindsey Vonn.

In an interview with USA Today, Ilona Maher talked about the photoshoot, as well as the discourse around her body as she said,

"I was always like, you know, called masculine or whatever. But I never felt that way. But I don't think you're going to bully the girl who could probably beat you up in a rage. I love that (rugby) showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and it's not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.”

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ilona Maher made her maiden Olympic appearance as a representative of Team USA. She made an important contribution to USA's historic appearance at the Paris Olympics, where they almost went through to the finals, but lost to the ultimate champions New Zealand. They later defeated Australia by a close margin of 14-12 to win their first ever Olympic medal in any category of the rugby sevens.