Ilona Maher Turns the Heat Up in Itty-Bitty Yellow Two-Piece in Stunning Sauna Pics

The Olympic rugby player wore the same Bond-Eye set white on location of her SI Swimsuit cover shoot last September.

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bellport, New York. Swimsuit by Norma Kamali. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Ilona Maher is literally turning up the heat on Instagram. The SI Swimsuit model, who made her debut with the brand on the front of the September digital issue gave her 4.9 million followers a not-so-subtle reminder of her status as a magazine cover girl. The Olympian, who brought home team USA’s first bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Games last summer, donned an itty bitty shimmery yellow striped bikini from Bond-Eye Swim as she posed in a sauna and flaunted her muscular figure and washboard abs.

The 28-year-old wore the exact same stringy set and looked just as perfect while on location with SI Swimsuit in Bellport, NY earlier this year, posing on the shores of Fire Island Beach for photographer Ben Watts.

“sweating it out,” Maher captioned the post. She also showed off her flawless face card, striking a bold smolder in the cover snap as she leaned back. In the next pic, the Vermont native moved forward and rested on her knees with her head held up in one hand. She opted for a minimal glowy, hydrated glam look including feathered brows and glossy pink lips. Her long brown locks cascaded effortlessly down her shoulders and back.

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“Makin us sweat,” Victoria Meskin commented.

“go off girlie,” Betty Who added.

“HELLO??! WHAT DO WE OWE FOR THIS GIFT???” Sarah Nicole Landry gushed.

“Have you ever considered, now hear me out, being an @si_swimsuit model?” one fan cleverly chimed.

“ilona maher the woman that you are 👏🏼,” another wrote.

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bellport, New York. Swimsuit by Bond-Eye. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Maher has been taking over the internet over the past several months through her powerful body-positive content as well as her impeccable sense of humor on social media. She also stole America’s hearts on Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars, where she and professional choreographer and partner Alan Bersten were named runners-up.

This month she took her athleticism global, signing a three-month contract with the Bristol Bears of England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby league. And, turns out, she’s got tons of fans abroad too.

“I love when people call me [America’s Sweetheart] because I feel like I’m maybe not the image you would have of a sweetheart in some sense of the word. I’m honored,” she said about growing her platform and inspiring young female athletes everywhere. “I think (people) put female athletes, especially, into a box, like that’s all she is — ‘She plays on the field and that’s it.’ They forget the personalities that we have, how funny we are, the friendships, the way we are outside, the way we like to get dressed up. So it was important for me to show many sides of me and the body positivity, body appreciation side kind of came naturally in a way because it is something that I feel strongly about. Also, with a lot of my content, I try to see what’s relatable for others. And it’s so interesting in my time of learning to appreciate my body, you kind of start to realize, ‘Oh, everybody has insecurities.’”