American union rugby player Ilona Maher confessed to her experience at the nightclubs by sharing a confession through an Instagram story on Sunday, June 22. This comes amid the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist’s time at the Cannes Lions Festival in France.
In recent months, Maher has been busy with her rugby endeavors, which saw her feature at the Rugby Four Pacific Series, where the US side lost all three matches against New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Besides this, Maher has also been seen in various events of Sports Illustrated.
Days after featuring in SI photoshoot, Maher shared a confession on her Instagram story. The rugby player shared an anxious picture of herself and remarked that this is how she reacts when being at a club due to the sparklers. She also revealed that she frequently thinks about leaving the place while at a club. She wrote:
“This is me in the club getting anxious because the sparkles keep hitting the ceiling, and I realize how packed in we are, so I start planning how would I escape. I’ve never been chill a day in my life.”
Besides her rugby, social media, and other endorsements, Maher has also grown an affinity towards dancing in recent months, especially after her Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) stint.
Ilona Maher talks about her emotions of winning the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics
Ilona Maher recently opened up about her and the US rugby team’s bronze medal victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This was Maher’s second appearance at the Summer Games, following the event in Tokyo.
In an interview with Forbes published on June 5, 2025, the 28-year-old shared that the moment didn’t feel real despite it being a third-place finish and bronze medal. Additionally, she also revealed that some of her fans mistook her for a gold medalist and expressed her happiness at being able to uplift the sport. Maher said:
“Sometimes it still doesn’t feel real. Even though it was bronze to us, it felt like gold (to us), and I think to the world, it felt like gold in many ways. Whenever someone talks about me, they sometimes will call me a gold medalist, and I’m like, you’re wrong, but thank you so much. We have, I think, elevated the sport much more than anything. It’s been a really cool role.”
In the same interview, Ilona Maher also mentioned the upcoming Rugby World Cup and was elated over the potential crowd that the event might attract, especially with the presence of top rugby players around the world.
alt=”Soumik Bhattacharya” height=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by Sumeet Kavthale
