5 hours ago
7
Ilona Maher shared an honorable station astir what it feels similar to deterioration a bikini with her assemblage type, and fans can't assistance but respect however acold her assurance has come.
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images
For those who don't cognize her, Ilona is an Olympian who helped the U.S. Women's Rugby Sevens squad take location the bronze medal astatine the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was a historical infinitesimal due to the fact that it was the team's archetypal clip the U.S. Women's squad won a medal successful Rugby Sevens.
Kristy Sparow / Getty Images
She garnered a batch of attraction connected societal media, specifically TikTok, aft sharing behind-the-scenes details astir the Olympics and perfectly displaying her amusive personality. Ilona was besides praised for however susceptible she'd get with her fans astir assemblage representation and learning to emotion the tegument she's in.
Amy Sussman / Getty Images
She continued the positivity earlier this week aft announcing she was going to beryllium featured successful Sports Illustrated's iconic swimsuit contented for the 2nd time. She was archetypal featured successful 2024 arsenic their September integer screen contented model.
Hot Topic
Let's chat astir each things Summer Olympics
See our 2024 Summer Olympics Discussions
"Thank you to @si_swimsuit for erstwhile again letting maine showcase my strong, almighty assemblage and for making maine consciousness truthful beautiful," she wrote connected 1 post.
"For young Ilona wearing a bikini was erstwhile unthinkable but present I’d really similar to beryllium prancing astir successful one. Stay sexy, folks." The video was made up of a compilation of clips of her successful assorted bikinis portion she sang the viral opus "Sally, When The Wine Runs Out" by Role Model, and played connected the beach.
The 28-year-old jock felt empowered to amusement that being beardown is inactive sexy, particularly erstwhile nine tends to deem women with muscular physiques arsenic little feminine and attractive. It's wide Ilona is hoping to alteration that communicative by ensuring the satellite knows quality comes successful galore forms.
And that vigor decidedly transferred implicit to her fans, who were grateful to spot her posts:
As galore commenters reflected connected however they wished they had idiosyncratic similar Ilona to look up to increasing up, it reminded maine of a saccharine video connection she sent to a young miss who was dealing with value insecurities aft she had listed her value connected her tract travel support slip, lone to someway recognize she weighed "more than each of her friends." The pre-teen wrote Ilona a letter, and Ilona responded, revealing however overmuch she erstwhile related to her.
"I was ever a bigger miss successful sixth grade," Ilona explained successful the video. "I retrieve I was 130 pounds and I ne'er understood wherefore americium I ever bigger than everybody? I didn't get that, but present I've realized this is my body, and my assemblage is meant to beryllium large and almighty and strong. And I deliberation that's the aforesaid with you arsenic well."
"So truly admit that and admit it due to the fact that I'm gonna beryllium honest, Georgia, this is it," Ilona continued. "This is the assemblage you got and this is the assemblage you gotta love. Thank you truthful overmuch for your support. It means truthful overmuch to maine to spot and to cognize that I whitethorn beryllium affecting radical successful a bully way."
English (US) ·