This Is Rugby Olympian Ilona Maher’s Current Favorite Accessory

The Olympic bronze medalist is walking away from the Paris games with some new bling.

Ilona Maher / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

With the 2024 Olympic games ending today, athletes are beginning to leave Paris with their new hardware in tow. 

The games award hundreds of medals during their two-week span—and over a hundred to Team USA alone. Once home, medalists are left to decide what to do with their new trinkets. For two U.S. Olympians, it’s been an easy decision thus far. 

Back home in California, pro surfer Caroline Marks was quick to make her gold medal into an accessory. In a comical video that the athlete shared to her Instagram, she wore the medal over her shoulder like a purse, joking that it makes for the perfect shiny shoulder bag. 

Rugby icon Ilona Maher, the center who helped carry Team USA to its first medal in the history of the Olympic women’s rugby event, is thinking along the same lines. When asked what her favorite accessory is in a post-win interview with Vogue, she was quick to hold up her bronze medal. “My favorite accessory right now is probably a three-pound hunk of medal I just got that does get very heavy, but I’m gonna keep wearing it,” she joked. 

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A post shared by Ilona Maher (@ilonamaher)

Given the historic nature of the U.S. women’s rugby team’s win, it comes as no surprise that the 27-year-old is basking in the victory—and holding tight to her medal. Plus, the bronze suits her, and we are of the opinion that she should continue rocking it for years to come (or, at least, until she wins her next medal).