Ilona Maher welcomes competition, whether it’s on an Olympic field or in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom.
During an interview with Luxury Handbag Shopping, the pro rugby player, 28, compared her experience winning a bronze medal for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics to her runner-up finish on DWTS season 33. While she found both to be pressure-packed, nothing quite stacked up to the Olympics.
Maher’s comments came on the heels of gymnast Stephen Nederoscik, who also competed on season 33, saying he found the reality competition show to be more difficult.
“I feel like they’re hyping up Dancing With the Stars,” Maher told Us exclusively at a photoshoot for her partnership with Quaker Oats. “It was very hard. It was extremely hard. Mentally very hard for me, but in a different way. I think there was just different pressure levels.”
Maher is working with Quaker Oats to fuel up for the new year as she prepares to return to rugby with the Bristol Bears.
“With the Olympics, this wasn’t just for myself,” she continued. “The Olympics was to get a medal for my team, to get a medal for our program so we could continue having a program so young girls could dream about being an Olympian and playing rugby in the U.S. So, that’s pressure.”
Compare that to Dancing With the Stars, which was more of an individual endeavor.
“This was about me dancing, looking pretty on the screen and dancing for people,” she added. “It was very hard, but I think I put more pressure on it maybe than it had to be…Dancing With the Stars was amazing and I got to do so much with it. But I’m like, OK, that was that experience?”
There were, however, similarities between her Olympic and DWTS experiences, particularly in fan support. She said she learned that social media has “an insane power,” which translated to votes on DWTS.
Now, she wants to use her social presence to continue collaborating with her partners. Speaking on Quaker Oats specifically, she said she was thankful for the opportunity to work with a brand she “grew up using.”
“When they reached out, it was really cool because this is something that we had in our cabinet and I think my parents still probably have a thing in the cabinet that’s always just there,” she said. “It’s really nice because my brand is about authenticity. It’s about partnering with things that I love and spreading that message and never being forced about it and having something that feels natural to promote.”
With reporting by Mariel Turner.
