Ilona Maher Announces Her Next Career Move in Rugby After Olympic Medal

Maher's had quite the 2024, ranging from winning an Olympic medal to being named runner-up on "Dancing With the Stars."

United States forward Ilona Maher runs during the 2024 Paris Olympics. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Olympic rugby star turned Dancing With the Stars phenom Ilona Maher is returning to the pitch, this time with the Bristol Bears in the Premiership Women's Rugby league in the United Kingdom.

Maher is joining the Bears towards the end of their season. Her three-month contract will officially begin in Jan. 2025 and run until the season ends. The PWR chair Genevieve Shore told BBC Sport that Maher's addition took "just a few weeks" and that "it's been fairly quick" to figure out how to bring the American star across the pond.

It will be a new format for fans who got to know Maher at the Olympics while she was representing the United States in rugby sevens, as the Premiership league plays with the more traditional 15 players a side.

Maher and the Bears posted a fun announcement video on Monday.

The Eagle has Landed 🦅🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/z5I39zpswg

— Bristol Bears Women 🐻 (@BristolBearsW) December 2, 2024

Maher is coming off quite an incredible 2024. She helped the United States women's rugby team capture a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, which was the country's first rugby medal ever. Maher's popularity increased during the Paris Games on social media as she's amassed to over three million TikTok followers and over four million Instagram followers. She just finished runner-up on Dancing With the Stars, and she was named one of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's athlete models for the 2025 edition.

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