Ilona Maher Deemed a ‘Queen’ by Fans in New Poolside Two-Piece Pics

The Olympic athlete makes black swimwear look anything but basic.

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. | Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

In addition to being an Olympic rugby bronze medalist, Ilona Maher is also a three-time SI Swimsuit model, and she’s not letting her 5.4 million Instagram followers forget it.

Over the weekend, the 29-year-old athlete took to the social media platform to share a carousel of content from her time at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. Maher’s carousel started with a truly iconic snapshot of the model and athlete sprawled out on a lounger while clad in a black string bikini. The Vermont native was captured looking strong and radiant as she brought a champagne flute to her lips and looked off into the distance.

Additional snapshots in her photo dump included pics of food and drink and bikini selfies. “cabana days,” Maher captioned her April 4 post, which also featured a shout-out to one of the resort’s staff members. “Thank you to @jwdesertridge for the amazing hospitality. I found my true chill there.”

And as always, plenty of Maher’s followers took to the comments section to hype her up.

“A FREAKING QUEEN 👑,” nutrition coach Brianna Connel cheered.

“Q for Queen 👑,” another user concurred.

“Cannot believe the Queen graced AZ with her presence,” an additional comment read of Maher’s vacation destination.

“You look like a renaissance painting! Beautiful,” one fan wrote.

“How do I like this 10,000 times????!😍,” someone else inquired.

“A little warning please?! I nearly choked on my Caesar salad 😍😍😍,” another follower quipped.

“The energy you give off!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥,” one user observed.

More black swimwear looks from Maher

Maher, who made her SI Swimsuit debut in September 2024 as our digital cover model, has returned to the brand each year since. She was photographed for the print issue in Bermuda last year and posed for the forthcoming 2026 magazine in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Ilona Maher was photographed by James Macari in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Swimsuit by Palondré The Label. | James Macari/Sports Illustrated

While on set with the SI Swimsuit team in Mexico, Maher also sported black swimwear, this time in the form of a Palondré The Label two-piece. And while many of her suits on location in Bermuda embraced trendy animal print, the model and content creator also wore like this black cut-out one-piece by netta.

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Swimsuit by netta. Scarf by MANGO. | Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

While fans eagerly await the release of the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue (which hits newsstands next month!) be sure to revisit both of her prior brand features, as well as Maher’s stint on the 2025 Swim Week runway.

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