Olympic Medalist Ilona Maher In Bikini Is “Magnifique”
Ilona Maher is best known for her impressive moves on the rugby field, but this year, she’s started her swimsuit modeling career. Ilona appeared in the 2025 edition of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, and since then, she’s been posting a lot of bikini pics on Instagram. She recently took a trip to Cannes, and shared a photo of herself getting out of the water in a black bikini. Ilona captioned it, “Magnifique.” Here are 5 of Ilona Maher’s wellness secrets.
She
Ilona is all about promoting body positivity on her social media accounts. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram video. In the video, Ilona shared highlights from her Sports Illustrated shoot with Ellie Thurman. “I’m always reminded how beautiful all body types are. We are all made for different purposes but all worthy just the same. Both of our bodies do amazing things for us and neither is more important and better than the other. Surround yourself with women who uplift you and praise your differences. The world would be a pretty boring place if we all looked the same.”
She Runs
Last month, Ilona and her sister Olivia took a beach vacation together, and shared highlights from it on Instagram. In this video, they are seen going for a run. According to research from FloTrack, running has a lot of benefits. “Running and jogging is an aerobic exercise, and you’re working out both your heart and lungs while doing so. This will also lead to a lower resting heart rate, lower bad cholesterol in your blood and lower blood pressure.”
She Swims
In the previous Instagram video, Ilona and her sister are seen going for a swim. Better Health reports that swimming has a lot of benefits. “Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. Swimming is a good all-round activity because it: keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body, builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, helps you maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs, tones muscles and builds strength.”
She Hikes
Ilona loves going on hikes to keep herself in shape. In this video her sister Olivia posted on Instagram, they are seen hiking while on vacation. Harvard Health reports that hiking has a lot of benefits. “Navigating a winding, wooded trail can help your body build endurance, strength, and coordination, says Dr. Edward Phillips, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.”
She Works With A Psychologist
To prepare for rugby games, Ilona works with a sports psychologist. She talked about the impact this has had on her with Well + Good. “Especially during the Olympics, even the first night I arrived, I saw my growth start to happen. It was very important to me to stay grounded and not let anything get to me because knowing I had millions of eyes on me, it’s normal to worry about dropping the ball, embarrassing myself, doing something wrong, or missing a tackle. I met with my sports psychologist a lot, particularly the night before each game. And we literally just sat there, did some breath counting and some mantras and whatnot. That really grounded me.”
