U.S. rugby star Ilona Maher says Olympic bronze medal may have saved the team

Ilona Maher became one of the Paris Olympics’ heroes after leading the U.S. rugby team to its first-ever Olympic medal for men or women.

The 27-year-old, frequently clad in bright red lipstick, helped Team USA bring home the bronze medal in a nail-biting win over Australia on Tuesday.

Following her win, the Vermont native spoke to CNBC about investments in women’s sports, how the victory will help rugby grow and how she has built a brand that includes millions of social media followers.

Maher said she has been focused on the 2024 Summer Olympics for the past three years — and the team’s existence after the games was not certain.

“Our coach said to us if we don’t win a medal, we might not have a program next year, and so that really stuck with me, those words, and so we delivered,” Maher said.

Fresh off the win against Australia, more good news came for U.S. rugby. Businesswoman and investor Michele Kang, who also owns professional soccer teams, announced a $4 million gift to the USA women’s rugby sevens team in a bid to grow the sport. Sevens refers to the teams that comprise up to seven people in that variation of rugby.

Maher said the donation, which will be rolled out over the next four years ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, will give the team needed momentum.

“I’m so happy that people are taking notice of it,” Maher said. “We’re trying to make this program better for all the women who came before us, who had to work full-time jobs to do this to make it better for all those coming in later.”

Maher said savvy investors will figure out that investing in women’s sports is good business, and there is money to be made.

“The personalities in women’s sports is just unlike that of the men. I think the way people connect with women is something special.”

Maher didn’t even pick up the sport until she was 17. As a former field hockey, basketball and soccer player, she caught on quickly and never looked back.

She was recruited by Quinnipiac University, where she played center and helped the team win three national championships. She was named the nation’s top college rugby player in 2017.

Since college, Maher went on to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and then represented the U.S. at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa.

Maher said she has a degree in nursing, but has not yet had to use it. Instead, she said she has been building her brand on social media to complement her athletic career. She currently has more than two million followers on Instagram and another two million on TikTok.

“I want this to be what I can do for the rest of my life,” Maher said of her athletic career.

“I knew that platforms like TikTok and Instagram could be what does that for me, to create a brand, to put yourself out there … so it’s been really cool to build that up,” she added.

The 5’10” Olympic medalist has also made a name for herself promoting body positivity. She has represented brands such as Secret deodorant and reminded her followers that “All body types can be Olympians.”

She also is not afraid to show her silly side, whether it’s testing out the cardboard beds in the Paris Olympic village, converting football star Jason Kelce to a rugby fan or fangirling with Snoop Dogg.

Following the Olympics, Maher said she is ready for a much-needed break.

“I’m throwing my phone in the lake, and I’m not looking at it for a week,” she said.

“I think it’s going to be about hanging out with family, being able to relax and re-center in a way — and make some money,” she added.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.