Ilona Maher Wins ESPY Award, Declares ‘Strong Is Beautiful’ in Speech
Photo by: Disney/Frank Micelotta Reading Time: 2 minutes
Dancing with the Stars runner-up Ilona Maher won an ESPY Award earlier this week in the category Best Breakthrough Athlete. The Olympic rugby player delivered an inspiring acceptance speech in which she declared that “strong is beautiful.”
Ilona Maher Wins ESPY Award, Delivers Empowering Speech
After her name was announced, Maher stepped on stage with a written acceptance speech in her hand during the ESPY Awards ceremony on Wednesday. She made sure to shout out her rugby teammates, saying they’re “the reason I am up here on this stage.”
Maher encouraged everyone watching to tune in to the Women’s Rugby World Cup next month, saying, “You’re not gonna understand it the first time you watch it. You’re not gonna understand it the second time either, but just keep watching.”
She also shared the inspiring message that “strong is beautiful, strong is powerful, it’s sexy, it’s whatever you want it to be.” Receiving cheers from the audience, she added, “I hope more girls can feel how I feel.”
Maher shared that she was once “a girl who didn’t understand why her body looked the way it did,” adding that “sport gave me an outlet and showed me how capable I can be.”
“Take up space,” Maher said to end her speech. “Pitch it faster. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar, and never tone it down.”
SEE ALSO: ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’ RUNNER-UP ILONA MAHER ALL PERFORMANCES
Maher Finished DWTS in Second Place
Last year, Ilona Maher competed on Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars with her professional partner, Alan Bersten. Maher showed amazing improvement over the course of the season, starting with scores of 6 from the judges and ending with 10s.
Maher and Bersten made it all the way to the finale, where they ended up finishing the competition in second place, behind winner Joey Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson. Maher was a fan favorite during the season, after competing in the Paris Olympics earlier in the year.
It’s no wonder Maher won the ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete, since she’s earned quite a social media following. She currently has over 3 million followers on TikTok, and over 5 million on Instagram.
