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Ilona Maher might be an Olympic athlete but that hasn’t stopped people from talking about her body.
The 27-year-old U.S rugby player, who is currently competing with her team at the Paris Olympics, has hit back at at those who feel the need to comment on her muscular physique.
In a video that has now gone viral, Maher called out a negative social media comment about her BMI, which read “I bet that person has a 30% bmi.”
“I think you were trying to roast me but this is actually a fact,” Maher said, before explaining that she does in fact, have a BMI of 30, “or 29.3 to be more exact.”
“I’ve been considered overweight my whole life,” Maher says while recalling the experience of being considered overweight at school because of her BMI.
However, this experience led Maher to discovering that the concept of BMI’s aren’t a measurement of health.
“I chatted with my dietician because you know, I go off of facts, and not what pops up here,” Maher said, pointing to her head, “like you do.”
“We talked about BMI and how it really isn’t helpful for athletes,” she says. “I’ve said it before, I’m 5’10 and 200 pounds—and I have about 170 pounds of lean mass on me.
“[My] BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do. It doesn’t tell you what I do on the field, how fit I am, it’s just a couple numbers put together.
“I do have a BMI of 30 and I’m considered overweight but alas, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not,” Maher concludes.
This isn’t the first time Maher has dismantled society’s expectations of her.
The rugby player, who has become known for wearing lipstick during her rugby matches, has been vocal about female athletes being put into a box.
“And I don’t like that,” she told SELF, “I’d like it to be like…you can be all these things. You can be beautiful and you can want to get dressed up, but also be a great player on the field.”
Following her viral video, Maher posted another one, which she titled, “All body types can be Olympians.”
In this TikTok video, Maher encourages people to take “”take a look at all the different body types on display,” at the Olympics Opening ceremony.
“All body types matter. All body types are worthy,” she said in the video. “From the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from a rugby player to a shot-putter, a sprinter. All body types are beautiful, can do amazing things. Truly see yourself in these athletes and know that you can do it too.”
While Maher’s messaging is incredibly empowering and important, it seems unbelievable that she has to defend her body—which has not only made her successful at her sport but has also gotten her to the Olympics—at all.
Facing endless criticism about your body shouldn’t be the cost of being a woman.
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