Ilona Maher is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. Meet this year's honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Looking over Lake Champlain in her hometown, Ilona Maher’s boldness hasn’t faltered. The 5-foot-10 Olympic medalist carries herself with poise, unafraid to take up space on – and off – the rugby field.

She’s back in town following a legendary year, from winning a bronze medal with Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics to coming runner-up in the latest season of "Dancing With the Stars."

But Maher is equally known for her presence off the field. As the most followed rugby player on social media, she has become a revolutionary body-positive activist and an inspiration for younger generations of women and athletes.

‘I understood it from the moment I got on the field’

Maher always knew about rugby – her father had played and coached the sport her entire life. But access to rugby, especially for girls, was limited. It wasn’t until her senior year of high school that she joined a club team in South Burlington, and immediately, it felt right.

She had always felt out of place in her body; it wasn't that she hated it, she “didn’t understand it.”

“Even though I was just as fast and fit as the other girls, I was so much bigger," she says. "And I never understood that."

She'd tried to play field hockey and other sports but remembers feeling “so big and out of place.” But rugby, she says, is a sport that doesn’t want you to tone down your strength, speed or skill: "It wants you to be as powerful as you can, and it takes any body type there is."

“I remember how I just understood it from the moment I got on the field,” she adds. “I knew the spacing, I understood how to tackle and when to do what, and it just kind of fit my body like a glove. I wanted to keep going with it because it felt so right.”

Maher later played rugby for Quinnipiac University, where she earned a nursing degree and won three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association championships. She made her USA debut at the 2018 France Sevens tournament before competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were held in 2021). At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Maher and her teammates won a bronze medal for Team USA.

Her love for the sport has also brought her closer to her tight-knit family; her parents and two sisters joined us at the hotel suite with their collection of Maher's accolades, Olympic pins and framed photos. The pins demand attention against the neutral tones of their clothes and bring an invited pop of color to the room. Her mom walks us through the collection, smiling fondly over each memory.

"To have your daughter get into your sport and become tops in the world at it is phenomenal," her father, Mike, says.

In part, Maher still plays to make him proud. "It’s his love. So it’s another way we can bond," she says. "I went to nursing school for my mom. I played rugby for my dad."

From the rugby field to social media success

Maher started posting to TikTok and Instagram in 2021 to introduce more people to women’s rugby and secure sponsorships for her team. It quickly evolved into something much greater – her authenticity, charm and openness kept viewers hooked. Now, she has more than 9 million followers across the accounts.

Her social media presence allowed her to be seen as more than just "one thing." She quickly realized that while "not too many people in the world play rugby, so many people in the world have body issues."

"Rugby celebrates so many body types, and it gets to show what your body is capable of on the field, which then gives you a different view of who you are," she says from a hotel suite not far from her family's home.

At the start of the Paris Olympics, she posted to TikTok inviting people to see themselves in these athletes and “know that you can do it too,” from the “smallest gymnast” to the “tallest volleyball player.”

Her other inspirational videos encourage people to “take up space” and “do what you love, even if society tells you it’s not ‘ladylike.’” She also flaunts her style, often in elegant dresses and even gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated in September 2024.

But what’s most captivating about her content might not be her outstanding rugby skills or sound advice; rather, her humor takes center stage.

As for how she balances her fierce competitor side with this more humorous persona, it’s all about “compartmentalization.” While she identifies as a “very competitive person,” she’s learned that for her happiness, she needs to save that for the rugby pitch.

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Maher’s fearlessness and authenticity have made her a role model for young women

In November, a snippet of Vermont native Noah Kahan’s song, “Call Your Mom,” went viral on social. Over the lyrics, “Don’t be discouraged, I’ve been exactly where you are,” young women shared how Maher had helped them accept their bodies.

And Maher has been in their shoes. “I have not felt very beautiful or feminine because of the way my body looks. But now… I feel so gorgeous having my broad shoulders, I love my broad shoulders,” she says. “So I think for girls, it’s seeing me and knowing that that’s a place that they can get to.”

Maher does feel pressure to be “good” for her fans, but that doesn’t stop her from prioritizing sincerity. Amid a slew of unrealistic beauty standards on social media, Maher knows that people can feel out of place in their bodies.

So, it’s important to her, “as somebody who’s won an Olympic medal, who can do so many great things on the field,” to allow her fans to see some of her less glamorous moments: “If I have a bad day, it’s OK if you have a bad day. That’s so normal.”

In September, she posted a TikTok in a bikini asking her followers if she could “be vulnerable for a second” and admitted that it’s “hard to be body positivity all the time.” The video was flooded with warm comments: “I needed to hear this today!” “It’s nice to hear someone with your platform sharing this.” Others chimed in to remind her: “You are a Sports Illustrated goddess!”

Above all, Maher just wants to be relatable. “I grew up just like that girl,” she shares. “So I want them to be able to see themselves in me, and to show that there is a light and there is a way to go. I was also somebody who didn’t always just love my body, but I’ve grown to love my body"

Her younger sister, Adrianna, often hears people say, "I wish I had an Ilona growing up," and feels lucky to have had “the Ilona” growing up. “She’s just always been so supportive,” she says with pride. “It’s so wonderful to be able to see other girls start to have that.”

“I'll cry, for real,” adds sister Olivia, who now is Maher's manager. "There couldn’t be a better person for Team USA to have representing them, or for women and girls everywhere."

'Dancing With the Stars': Show 'as much skin as possible'

Maher brought her skills to a new audience on "Dancing With the Stars" last year, learning dance routines for the first time.

In October, she asked the costume designers to show “as much skin as possible” after feeling “very covered up” throughout the first few weeks.

“I felt like some of the other dancers, maybe the smaller, more petite dancers, were showing more skin,” she said. “And I was like, I've never been afraid to show skin. I've always loved showing muscles.”

Maher wanted girls to see her wearing the same outfits as the other dancers, to show that she would look beautiful, too.

“I don't think we should be hiding the big girl. I love the way I look. I love showing my body off, and I wanted to show it,” she says.

What’s next for Ilona Maher? The Bristol Bears and 2025 Rugby World Cup

Maher moved to London in December to play 15s with the Bristol Bears, marking a pivotal step in her goal of competing with the USA team in the 2025 Rugby World Cup. After breaking her nose in Bristol's game against Leicester on Jan. 18, she returned to the field Feb. 2.

Throughout her move, she continues to embrace the "high woman philosophy," which uplifts players who paved the way for women's rugby.

“High women are those players who came before us, who used to play on terrible fields … who had to shine their car headlights on the field to get some light at night,” she says. “They did all of that so that now we can do what we're doing.”

Now, she is passing it forward so more young women can dream of a full-time rugby career. She wants her legacy to be one of authenticity, as someone who taught young girls that they can learn to appreciate or love their bodies, and that they can both be beautiful and strong.

“Female athletes are put into a box. You play rugby and a stereotype follows you along with that," she says. "I never liked that. I think women are so much more than the stereotypes of the sports we play.”

If she could give her younger self a piece of advice, she wouldn’t say a thing. “I'd wear a little mustache, sunglasses and a baseball cap, and I would just give her, like, one of these,” she says with a wink and thumbs up.

“And then I'd walk away, because I don't want her to change anything she did. All the mistakes that she made, all the things she did, led to where I am now.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ilona Maher is breaking records and beauty standards