Ilona Maher said her legs were sore after the first day of training with the Premiership Women’s Rugby team Bristol Bears. The Olympian signed a three-month contract with the club after a runner-up finish on Dancing With The Stars.

Maher made a buzz on social media during the 2024 Paris Olympics as she led Team USA to a maiden bronze medal at the Games. She received a call for the 33rd season of DWTS soon after. She was paired with former champion Alan Bersten and after over two months of dancing, the duo placed second during last month’s finale.

The 28-year-old signed with Bristol Bears for the remainder of the PWR 2024/25 season shortly after and has held a few training sessions with the team. However, the transition from dancing to rugby hasn’t been easy for the two-time Olympian.

Speaking about her initial training sessions with the team during Rugby Union Weekly’s Ilona Maher special podcast, she said:

“They are sore, yesterday was a lot of walking, there were a couple of stairs we had to take. That really scared me but they are definitely sore, it’s a totally different thing going from dancing to rugby.” [1:30 onwards]

The American player further added that getting used to rugby training sessions would take time.

“I think even lifting, lifting weights, I have been moving my body in a completely different form, and now getting back into this would be a slow slow growth,” she added.

Maher is with the team in Bristol, United Kingdom, currently and will fly back to the USA for Christmas. She will make her debut after returning from the States, which is expected to be against local rivals Gloucester-Hartpury on January 05.

“I want to put myself in the best position for the World Cup” – Ilona Maher opens up on reasons behind joining the Bristol Bears

Rugby Sevens – Olympic Games Paris 2024: Ilona Maher in action (Source: Getty)

While Ilona Maher had been looking to move to the English top flight since the end of 2023, her biggest motivation behind making the move ahead of the 2025 World Cup was securing a place in the United States Rugby 15s team. She told the Guardian in an interview that PWR’s growth in recent years was also one of the factors.

“I want to put myself in the best position to hopefully be selected for the World Cup. I think there are many reasons. I really love what the PWR is doing and I think I love their branding, I think that’s really cool. I have been in the USA sevens for six years now. So I wanted to try something different, go and live somewhere else, meet new people,” Maher said.

The 28-year-old added that she would be playing in the center and wing and would also try playing in the forward position if the opportunity arose. Maher played as a utility back for the USA Rugby Sevens team.