Fresh off a medal win with her team in the Paris Olympics, U.S. rugby star Ilona Maher is making new waves as the latest digital cover model for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition.
The 28-year-old bronze-medal winner was announced Wednesday as the cover model for the September digital swimsuit issue. The image, which shows Maher posing in a brown bikini on a dock, quickly racked up positive reactions, with nearly one million likes on Instagram as of Thursday afternoon. In a statement, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day called the rugby player a "modern-day role model of strength, conviction and authenticity.
" Her "presence on the cover symbolizes a shift in the narrative — one that celebrates not only physical prowess but also the courage to lead, inspire and advocate for change," she said. Some are hailing the decision to have a woman with an athletic, powerful build on the cover as a step forward in disrupting narrow beauty standards for women. But others say we've still got a long way to go.
"I think it's awesome," said Katie Fortune, a PhD student and gender studies instructor at Memorial University in Newfoundland. A screenshot of the cover from Sports Illustrated's Instagram account. The digital issue includes a photo spread by Ben Watts of Maher in various swimsuits, including some of her with her bronze medal and rugby ball.
(Screenshot/Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated) "There's got to be thousands of women who take this as, like, a big step — for e.