Fans Gush Over Ilona Maher’s Dedication of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Performance to Olympic Rugby Teammates

She shared a powerful message with her teammates and those athletes who have come before her ahead of Tuesday’s performance.

Ilona Maher / Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY

Tuesday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars was “Dedication Night,” and contestants had the chance to devote their performances to influential figures and institutions in their lives.

For Olympian Ilona Maher, the decision of whom to honor was easy. In a heartfelt Instagram message ahead of the fifth round of competition on Oct. 15, the rugby athlete dedicated her impending performance to her 2024 Paris Olympic rugby team—the group that won the bronze medal and secured the first Olympic podium finish for the U.S. women’s rugby program.

“Tonight, I’m dedicating this dance to my Olympic team,” Maher wrote in the caption of her post. “We truly did something so special not just for ourselves but for those who came before us and those who will come after us. It was in no way easy but I’m so happy I had this group of incredible people to do it with.”

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The message accompanied a clip of Maher and the rest of the squad stepping up onto the podium and taking a bow following their bronze medal win. Her fans and followers, who have been loving Maher’s Dancing with the Stars content, voiced their approval of the choice in the comment section.

“What a great collection of incredible and powerful women!!” one gushed of the team. “Sooo awesome; I know they’ll appreciate it and be rooting for you,” another added.

Maher made it clear that the evening wasn’t just about the small, but powerful squad of 2024 Olympic bronze medalists, either. It was about “all the struggle, work, and love for the game that came before us and will come after us that I am dedicating this night to,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am so proud of this group of people and what we accomplished together and what it means for rugby in the United States and women’s sports as a whole all over the world.”

Ahead of her performance alongside partner Alan Bersten, Maher was joined by several of her rugby teammates, who then joined the audience to watch the pair perform a rumba in their honor. The performance was “better than I imagined it,” teammate Alex Sedrick wrote in the comment section of Maher’s dedication post.

We couldn’t agree more with the pro rugby center. Maher and Bersten will return to the stage for the next installment of Dancing with the Stars next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.