Ilona Maher became a quick international sensation at the 2024 Paris Olympics thanks to her relatable social media videos and the United States women's rugby team winning a bronze medal, the first Team USA rugby Olympic medal in history.
Even though Maher is now a star, she still gets starstruck, especially when meeting fellow Olympians. There was one athlete who she was really excited to meet, as many others were, too: Simone Biles. She detailed her interaction with her when speaking to Sports Illustrated recently.
“I got to trade pins with Simone Biles, and I’d never met her before, I just looked at her and I was like ‘I need one of your custom pins,’ and that was the first thing I said to her,” Maher said. “I gave her mine and she gave me hers, and that was a really cool interaction.”
Biles, the seven-time gold medalist gymnast, had custom pins at the Paris Games. They were heart shaped with her name in the middle, and Olympians from all across the world wanted to trade with the G.O.A.T. Luckily for Maher, she got to.
Maher surely had other special moments meeting fellow Olympians in Paris last summer, but it's understandable why her interaction with Biles would stand out.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ilona Maher Shares Her Most Starstruck Moment at the Paris Olympics.
