Ilona Maher is having fun with a banner summer time. On Might 30, she sauntered throughout the Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit runway in a blue monokini, hip bumped Bethenny Frankel, and capped off the night by swimming backstroke to thunderous applause. The Olympic medalist’s cocktail of athleticism, magnificence, and magnetic power might fairly presumably ignite its personal tide pool, so it is becoming Coppertone tapped her for a partnership for the ages.
The Coppertone Sport Sunscreen Spray SPF 50 Ilona Maher Restricted-Version Design ($9), that includes the athlete’s precise face emblazoned on the bottle, is a robust visible: Maher, rugby ball in a single hand, approaching with confidence. She’s neither shrinking herself nor apologizing for her statuesque kind, which is strictly how she operates past the label. It is an expression of energy and aggressive spirit that would encourage younger athletes each time they attain for a bottle. “I am actually proud to step into the function of someone that women and girls look as much as who’s simply present in a really robust physique,” Maher tells Popsugar.
:quality(70):extract_cover():upscale():fill(ffffff)/2026/06/03/747/n/1922153/f7c260076a205cd459bc00.94419504_Screenshot_2.png "Ilona Maher Talks Physique Confidence and the Significance of Energy")
The formulation gives 80 minutes of sweat-resistant safety per software, the size of a girls’s regulation rugby match. “We’re tackling, bits are being thrown in every single place, and Coppertone Sport retains us protected the entire time,” says Maher. “I hate farmers’ tans, so I spray it genuinely in every single place.”
Seeing her personal face on the packaging after years of shopping for the formulation was surreal.”I haven’t got many phrases, however I am honored that this occurred. I’m a humble particular person. But additionally, hell yeah.”
“I’ll do no matter I can to proceed to remain robust of thoughts and to like my physique in all of the seasons of life. I shall be larger, I shall be smaller, I shall be stronger, I will be weaker.”
Coppertone’s bottle rendering of Maher marks a considerably uncommon celebration of a girl’s bodily energy. After the inclusivity-driven period of the 2010s, it will probably really feel like physique positivity has diminished to a faint whisper on some corners of the web as many individuals are shrinking. By way of her social channels and podcast, Home of Maher, the rugby star would not waver in her messaging: you need to really feel assured in your pores and skin. “I really feel for ladies, as a result of I perceive how laborious it’s, the way you’re informed you are extra stunning if you end up skinny and the feedback ramp up. All of us want to concentrate on how cyclical it’s,” says Maher. “I simply do not suppose a physique ought to ever be a pattern.”
The prevalence of GLP-1 drugs has modified the sport in a number of methods. Many individuals are on them for well being advantages, together with diabetes, blood strain, and ldl cholesterol administration, however they’re additionally used for weight reduction. “I do not choose girls who should be on it,” says Maher.
However when you’ll be able to’t stream an episode of “Love Island” with out an onslaught of GLP-1 adverts, it will probably really feel radical not to take one. “I do really feel discouraged at occasions,” says Maher. “I’ll do no matter I can to proceed to remain robust of thoughts and to like my physique in all of the seasons of life. I shall be larger, I shall be smaller, I shall be stronger, I will be weaker.”
If the Sports activities Illustrated Swim runway is any indication, the spectrum of magnificence stays simply that — an exquisite spectrum. The 2026 present included a wide range of powerhouse girls, together with Lauren Chan, Hunter McGrady, Bethenny Frankel, Gabriela Moura, Tiffany Haddish, Tunde Oyeneyin, and a pregnant Katie Austin. “We won’t all be one factor,” says Maher. “It will be a particularly boring-looking world.”
Off the runway, Maher, the last word poster lady for energy, acknowledges a pocket of the web aspiring to make positive aspects on the health club. “I like seeing ladies lifting and going extra to the health club, saying, ‘I gotta eat my protein.’ We’re seeing an inflow of ladies seeing that energy is gorgeous,” says Maher. With the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles on the horizon, their targets mirror her personal: “To be as robust as attainable.”
Alana Peden is an award-winning government storyteller, strategist, and model shaper. She lower her tooth in print (at magazines like InStyle and Extra) earlier than holding senior digital positions (at Penske Media Company and Bustle Digital Group). In 2017, she conceived and launched Elite Day by day’s vogue and sweetness verticals. Extra not too long ago, she served because the editor-in-chief at StyleCaster.
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