Olympian Ilona Maher to Compete on 'Dancing With the Stars' 

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• Courtesy Of Mike Lee/USA Rugby
• Ilona Maher

Rugby bronze medalist and Burlington native Ilona Maher is swapping a uniform and cleats for ballroom dresses and high heels. The Olympian will appear on Season 33 of "Dancing With the Stars," ABC announced on Wednesday.

The show pairs professional dancers with celebrities to practice and compete in ballroom dancing. Maher’s partner will be Alan Bersten, who won Season 28 while competing with former lead of "The Bachelorette" Hannah Brown.

Maher rose to stardom during the 2024 Paris Olympics, gaining fame not only for her rugby prowess but also for her comedic and relatable social media content. The 28-year-old has 2.3 million followers on TikTok and often uses her platform to champion body positivity.

Maher was not immediately available for comment.

Since the Olympics, Maher has appeared on "Late Night With Seth Meyers," posed as a cover model for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and received the keys to Burlington High School's athletic fields — her alma mater — at a celebratory event in August.

Maher told "Good Morning America" that she sees her appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" as an extension of her message about women embracing their bodies.

“I don’t think you’ll see a lot of my body types doing the tango or the rumba, the cha-cha,” she said. “So I’m nervous because I don’t know how well I’ll do, but I think seeing my body type move in that way just shows all sorts of body types can do so many different things.”

Her castmates (and competition) on "Dancing With the Stars" will include former leads of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran; "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra Parks; scam artist Anna Delvey; and fellow Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik.

Maher’s season will premiere on Tuesday, September 17, 8 p.m., on ABC and Disney+.