Ilona Maher explains why she has her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit pic on the back of her phone

Ilona Maher is so proud of her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue photos, she displays one of them on her smartphone.

The Olympic rugby player addressed the image on her phone's PopSocket (a phone-gripping disc that can go on the back of the device) Dec. 13 in a selfie video on Instagram, explaining that she showcases one of the images from the special Sports Illustrated edition because she's proud of the way she looks in it.

"Yes, this is me," she said, nodding while holding up her phone. "This is a photo of me from my SI Swim photoshoot and I look amazing."

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"Is it maybe a little self-absorbed to have this on the back of my phone?" she continued, laughing. "Maybe. Maybe it is. But when you look this good, it's good to just keep looking at it."

The athlete, who's become as known for her sense of humor as her skill on the field, went on.

"Like you have a bad day, you're like, 'Aww, I'm not feeling too good.' Then, BAM! Take a look at that. Look at her. She's so pretty," she said, holding the image of herself closer to the camera.

"Anyway, I'm not ashamed," she said, adding, "And if I ever lose my phone, people are going to know whose phone it is."

“Yes, I like to look at myself,” the Olympic rugby player captioned her video.

Maher appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in August 2024 shortly after she led Team USA to its first Olympic medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Games.

In the cover image, she appears standing on a dock wearing a black bikini with her hands behind her head. More images of Maher wearing a royal blue string bikini appeared inside the publication.

For the issue, Maher also talked to SI about how rugby gave her confidence. 

“I love that (rugby) showed me what I can do,” Maher told the publication. “It showed me how capable my body is and it’s not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.”

Maher became a standout athlete at the Paris Olympics thanks to her hilarious social media videos that displayed her wit and intelligence as well as her positive messages about body confidence.

In one viral TikTok video, Maher clapped back at a commenter who wrote that she had a body mass index (BMI) of 30.

"I think you were trying to roast me, but this actually is a fact. I do have a BMI of 30 — well, 29.3 to be more exact,” Maher said in the video. “I’ve been considered overweight my whole life.”

Maher noted that she was 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds, the only two measurements used to calculate BMI. 

“I chatted with my dietitian because I go off of facts and not just what pops up (in my head) like you do,” she told the troll in the video. “We talked about how (BMI) really isn’t helpful for athletes.”

“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,” Maher continued. “It’s just a couple numbers put together. It doesn’t tell you how much muscle I have or anything like that." 

"So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight," she added. "But alas, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not."

This article originally appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:

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