Team: US
Sport: Women’s rugby
Though she’d never medaled at the Olympics until this year, Ilona Maher was already a Team US favorite coming into the Paris Games for her TikTok presence. She’s reliably candid and silly on the app, and though she’s clearly having the time of her life with her women’s rugby teammates, she also routinely uses TikTok to refute cruel comments about her body.
In one video filmed before the Olympics, another user attempted to insult her body by guessing her BMI, or body mass index, which is often an inaccurate measurement of body fat for people with a ton of muscle like Maher. She didn’t let the comment slide.
“I’m five (feet) 10 (inches) (about 178cm), 200 pounds (90.7kg) and I have about, and this is an estimate, but about 170 pounds (77kg) of lean mass on me,” she said in the video.
“So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30, I am considered overweight. But alas, I’m going to the Olympics — and you’re not.”
Newfound fame isn’t distracting her from the ultimate prize, though. Earlier this week, Maher helped lead the US women’s rugby team to their first-ever medal, bronze, in rugby sevens.
