Olympic medalist Ilona Maher won big in Paris: 3 key lessons from her loss in Tokyo set her up to succeed

Rugby player Ilona Maher may now be an Olympic medalist and beloved social media star, but she's no stranger to heartbreak.

Maher and the U.S. women's rugby sevens team won the bronze with a last-minute win against Australia on July 30. The medal is the nation's first in women's or men's rugby sevens. It's also the first U.S. appearance on an Olympic rugby podium in 100 years, since the men's team took gold in 15-a-side rugby at the 1924 games.

Maher's last Olympics in Tokyo went differently. The U.S. team fell to Great Britain in the quarterfinal match in 2021, taking them out of medal contention. Maher, now 27, called the loss a "huge fall" in a 2022 Tedx Talk about her Olympics experience.

"I pretty much put all of my eggs in one figurative basket, and they all cracked," she said.

After that defeat, Maher questioned whether it was worth trying again in Paris. Despite wrestling with the idea, she said the answer was ultimately yes.

"The Olympics are full of the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows," she said. "But there are so many lessons learned."

Here are the three lessons Maher took away from her Olympic heartbreak, according to her Tedx Talk, which she says set her up for later success.

1. Cherish the journey

When the Tokyo Games were postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maher said her "heart sank." Another year until the Olympics meant another year of conditioning, another year of stress, and another year of hearing her coach yell, "Get on the line!"

But she came to appreciate the process, she said, especially in hindsight. The journey is everything.

"If I could go back in time, I'd spend another year bonding with my teammates, becoming an even stronger player and team," Maher said. After all, she added, she gets to "play the sport I love as a job, which not many women get to do."

In 2021, Maher documented her Olympic journey on her TikTok account, a practice she's carried over to the games in Paris. She currently has 1.8 million followers and over 100 million likes across all her videos.

Maher has leaned into capturing the moment, documenting everything from Team USA fit checks to Jason Kelce's decision to become a women's rugby super fan. She also shuts down myths about fitness and body types.

2. Stay present

The second realization Maher said she had was that it's key to stay present, instead of overthinking the future.

"I didn't get to fully appreciate my Olympics because I was so ready for the next great moment, the next great experience to happen, instead of enjoying where I was then," she said.

In Paris, Maher seems to savor even little moments, like debating pickleball with fellow Olympian Coco Gauff before the Opening Ceremony.

3. Be authentic

People identify with authenticity, Maher realized. Fans reached out to tell her that "they loved seeing an Olympian be yourself."

She had thought that viewers "put us up on a pedestal, think of us as perfect and indestructible," Maher said.

When the team lost to Great Britain in 2021, Maher shared her complicated feelings about the defeat on TikTok. Despite her sisters' concerns that the experience might be too fresh to share to millions of strangers, Maher said it was the right move.

"I wanted to," she said. "I'd been this fun happy person on this app. I wanted to show that even the top athletes, even Olympians, struggle with not only for our physical, but mental health."

Though she didn't win a medal in Tokyo, "I'm already on the journey to the next," she said at the time. "So, I'll get on the line, and I will be ready when that whistle blows."

The reality of securing a bronze medal hadn't fully sunk in when Maher spoke with NBC News after the win against Australia. Maher did hit a fierce strut down the runway of Champions Park near the Eiffel Tower while wearing her bronze medal, a moment she posted on her TikTok account set to Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love."

As for how Paris compares to her experience in Tokyo, Maher told NBC News' Joe Fryer that, medal aside, it was great for the team to connect with fans in-person.

"We were just breaking barriers and I think it was really cool to be able to spread my sport out there," she said.

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