“ So yeah , I do have a BMI of 30 . I am considered overweight . But alas , I ’m going to the Olympics , and you ’re not . "
Between Steve thepommel horse guy, Simone Biles’sclap backs, thegold-winning United States women’s gymnastics team, and the viral drama of theOlympic Village, there’s been no shortage of conversation-starting moments at the2024 Summer Olympics.
me as soon as Simone Biles and Suni Lee touch that matpic.twitter.com/XG8gGqWcw1
Now, Rugby Sevens Olympian Ilona Maher is going viral for not only winning bronze for Team USA andbeing freaking hilarious(seriously, herbehind-the-scenes contentdeserves its own gold medal), but also for iconically calling out the haters.
After a body-shaming commenter criticized Maher’s weight, writing, “I bet that person has a 30% BMI,” on one of her videos, Maher politely shut them down with facts.
She began, “Hi, thank you for this comment. I think you were trying to roast me, but this is actually a fact. I do have a BMI of 30. Well, 29.3 to be more exact.”
Maher recounted feeling embarrassed throughout her life for being told she was “overweight” due to the BMI scale. She said, “I’ve been considered overweight my whole life. In middle school, elementary school, high school, I was always considered overweight. I remember vividly one time in high school, I had to turn a physical into the office, and at the bottom of the page it said, ‘overweight.’ I was so embarrassed to turn that in and to have that written there. So, my whole life, I’ve been this way.”
“I chatted with my dietician because I go off facts and not just what pops up here,” she said, tapping her head. “You know, like you do,” she continued, laughing.
“We talked about BMI, and we talked about how it really isn’t helpful for athletes. BMI doesn’t tell you much. It just tells you your height, your weight, and what that equals.”
Maher continued, “I’ve said it before: I’m 5'10, 200 pounds. I have about, and this is an estimate, but about 170 pounds of lean mass on me,” she nodded before continuing, “Do that math in your head. You probably can’t.”
“That’s pretty crazy, right?” Maher said. “BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do. It doesn’t tell you what I can do on the field. How fit I am. It’s just a couple of numbers put together. It doesn’t tell you how much muscle I have or anything like that.”
She ended, “So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight. But alas, I’m going to the Olympics, and you’re not.”
Of course, the internet erupted with praise afterward:
“ so yeah , I do have a bmi of 30 . I am considered overweight . but alas , I ’m going to the olympics and you ’re not”oh I love herhttps://t.co/QlcXmMVF8 g
“ I ’m going to the Olympics and you ’re not ” oh she ATE thathttps://t.co/WWUn2lBY2W
Including bringing the receipts showing her killing it for Team USA at the Olympic Games.
This is why you should n’t always press send.#OlympicGames#USARugbyhttps://t.co / yykl8XlJrCpic.twitter.com / vfdIjscXJo
God I love woman in rugby
As others have pointed out, this isn’t the first time Maher has advocated for body positivity.
she made a video talking about how much food for thought athletes exhaust and how untested girls should n’t be food for thought conscious . which is so authoritative coming from a sports person . reckon how pro - ama everything is these days we need more people just doing the oppositehttps://t.co/TXYPbT4kGZ
In a previousviral video, she showed the food she eats as an athlete. “I think there’s some misconceptions about what athletes eat,” she said, showing a plate of various breads. “Fuel up, don’t stay hungry.”
Inanother video, she talked about how cellulite is normal. “I am a literal Olympian,” shesaid. “I have cellulite everywhere. It is completely normal, completely natural.”
Ilona is one of my fav ppl online . She made another picture spill about the fact that she still has cellulite despite being an Olympic athlete at the top of her game bcs that ’s just how body are .
And before the opening ceremony last week, she made aquick clipreminding her followers to recognize that all body types are beautiful and capable of Olympic-like feats. “As the Olympics officially start today, I want you all to take a look at all the different body types on display. All body types matter. All body types are worthy from the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from a rugby player to a shot-putter and a sprinter,” she said.
Basically, she’s my new queen.
