“She did, a lot of time”: Ilona Maher’s path to becoming the biggest breakout star in football since Lomu | Ilona Maher

oNE Saturday, September 2014, the women’s football team from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut traveled to Norwich, Vermont. A powerful 18-year-old prop scores three times in the A A convincing victory.

Quinnipiac coach Becky Carlson turns to her assistant. “Oh man,” she remembers. “Who is the kid in the pink chaos hat? I’ll put my arm out to her.

“And then in the same fall, I had a voicemail. I saved it. She sounded like a kid.’Hello, Coach Carlson, this is Ilona Maher. I just want to call and tell you that I want to transfer from Norwich to Quinnipiac. I am a nursing student. I want you to call me back.

“And I was like, ‘I don’t have to stretch out my arms.'”

Ten years later, many people will tweak their right arm with Ilona Maher. Bringing women’s matches to new audiences ahead of the World Cup in England, the U.S.’s 5-foot-10-inch center is global stars. Next is millions on social media, one Reality TV contestants Swimsuit model broadcasts message of human body positivity, and children on pink hats have become a phenomenon – ever since Jonah Lomu Rushed in this.

Maher was born in Burlington, Vermont in August 1996, the year before Lomu’s World Cup in South Africa. Michael and Mieneke Maher have three daughters, all of them are in sports. In high school, in father’s words, Ilona became a “multi-sports star: softball starter, state All-Star, state hockey All-Star, state basketball All-Star.

“But when she reached senior spring, she didn’t like the way softball program was planned… in terms of lack of sports. She would say, ‘Dad, they kept us for two and a half hours and they never sweated once.

The Mahers have a rule: You have to play with something. Ilona thinks of a lacrosse ball or track, but there is also rugby. Michael Maher found the game at the university and stayed to support the Mad River RFC, a club outside Stowe. Ilona spent a lot of time off the field when Michael participated and took the referee.

“There is a football program at another high school in Burlington that allows people from different high schools to come to it and guided by my friends,” said Michael Maher. “Ilona decided to give it a try. The call started right away.”

American college sports is serious business, and coaches compete to recruit the best people. Ilona chose Norwich, who was once an hour’s home in a military school. Her first year was successful in the field, but the culture was not right. So she made a call for fate to Quinnipiac, a small university in Hamden, Connecticut.

Quinnipiac Women’s rugby has a college status, bringing funding and focus. Most importantly, the program was led by Carlson. As Maher gave the Guardian in July forward US National Team Competition Oppose Fiji In Washington: “Having such a power behind you, they believe you, he thinks, as a program, we deserve more money because we deserve more women, and that’s over.”

Carlson transforms Maher from props to center, her size and speed pushes the Bobcats to three national titles, herself Massoren Award The best female college player. Maher earned her nursing degree, the top rugby education in her class. As Carlson described it, for three years, Maher and her teammates “get up at five in the morning and lift it up. You have breakfast, you are in training…twice a day.

Maher graduated in 2018. There are no professional 15 women’s choices, but there is no Olympics in the sevens. As her father said: “She said, ‘You know, Dad, I haven’t done it yet. To me, it’s kind of fun because I think it’s a game for a thin guy.

In 2018, Maher made his debut in Paris. Covid intervened in 2020, but at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Maher Has an impacther drama and social media posts have attracted a growing following. In 2024, at the Paris Games, the Hawks Copper copper In an exciting victory over Australia, Mach’s muscle contribution is celebrated with a widely shared Tiktok video from the athlete’s village, her personal hashtag: #BeastBeautybrains.

Go home and rise: compete While dancing with the stars, Posing For Sports Illustrated Acknowledgement Kamala Harris, emission Her own cosmetics collection. Want to play 15 seconds in the 2025 World Cup, she sign A short-term contract with Bristol, England, she attracted a record Premier League crowd before returning home.

In July, at the awards ceremony in ESPN on Los Angeles name Maher Best Breakthrough Athlete. From the podium, she told fans: “Strong is beautiful. Strong. Strong. I hope there are more girls who can feel their feelings… Take up space. Pick up space faster. Try harder. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar and never turn it down.” A few days later, in Washington, D.C., there were over 15,000 paid to see Maher and the Eagles facing Fiji-Ilona effect clearly shifting from the digital realm to the real world.

“I don’t know if anyone can quantify it,” said NFL CEO Bill Goren of her influence. “She has had a huge impact on our community, especially the young women we are working on a game, and they may never have anything else.” Similarly, Sally Horrox, the director of women’s rugby women’s rugby, paid tribute to Maher “from the rugby bubble” and entered the U.S. sports awareness to become “the eighth-sellable sports property in the world.”

In the prevalence and circumstances in DC, Mach sometimes seems a little uneasy at least in her press. The eagle’s stuttering, her own performance, or just asking questions, her fierce edge is on display.

Carlson looked from a distance. She encountered her own frustration during her 15 years of sharp turn. When Maher was with her, she felt similar pressure.

“We’re going to go from these very big peaks to these very deep canyons,” Carlson said. “Like: ‘Yes, this is what I can do, this is what I want to do, no, I can’t do that.” I’m sure this is the story of many high-profile athletes we’ve never seen before, because social media is it – it’s beautiful, everyone is perfect, never any hard decisions, never any hard conversations. ”

In fact, Maher’s path to stardom was “really tough”, she said. To help her athlete, Carlson “had a long conversation with one of my good friends, Becky Burleighteach [record-setting USA striker] Abby Wambach in Florida. I would be like, “How did you coach Abby?” because Abby is very similar to LO’s figure, but she also plays with self-doubt that never projected anywhere else. That’s not part of the Ilona story. ”

Sometimes, Maher’s status is not another player either. Before the Fiji game, at a grand dinner near the White House, Maher demanded, but close to her Eagles, wearing a uniform tracked jacket, jeans and sneakers, blending into it when everyone is known as the On stage. She and her sisters Olivia and Adrianna – co-host of the podcast, Mach House – Regular say Need to keep grounding required. Of course Michael and Meineke Maher are, emitting positivity.

At the World Cup, American women face severe tests. Samoa should be beaten, but Pool A. Also included in Australia and England, occupying the overwhelming favorites of the trophy. Next Friday, the Eagles will Pull the red rose In Sunderland, in the light body. Fortunately, their stars are used to the bright glare of their reputation.

At the DC dinner, at the Maher family table, Michael Maher recapsed her daughter’s days in college, and the program made her hers.

“Ilona came in and tried Quinnipiac for three years,” he said. “But more importantly, she also led the assists for three years. Ilona likes to be the organizer.

“All of these people are working hard because they want to play 15 seconds, saying she doesn’t know what she is doing? They should see her college record. She’s in the full package.”