Ilona Maher Talks Body Confidence and the Importance of Strength

Ilona Maher is enjoying a banner summer. On May 30, she sauntered across the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway in a blue monokini, hip bumped Bethenny Frankel, and capped off the evening by swimming backstroke to thunderous applause. The Olympic medalist’s cocktail of athleticism, beauty, and magnetic energy could quite possibly ignite its own tide pool, so it’s fitting Coppertone tapped her for a partnership for the ages.

The Coppertone Sport Sunscreen Spray SPF 50 Ilona Maher Limited-Edition Design ($9), featuring the athlete’s actual face emblazoned on the bottle, is a powerful visual: Maher, rugby ball in one hand, approaching with confidence. She’s neither shrinking herself nor apologizing for her statuesque form, which is exactly how she operates beyond the label. It’s an expression of strength and competitive spirit that could inspire young athletes every time they reach for a bottle. “I’m really proud to step into the role of somebody that girls and women look up to who’s just existing in a very strong body,” Maher tells Popsugar.

The formula provides 80 minutes of sweat-resistant protection per application, the length of a women’s regulation rugby match. “We’re tackling, bits are being thrown everywhere, and Coppertone Sport keeps us protected the whole time,” says Maher. “I hate farmers’ tans, so I spray it genuinely everywhere.”

Seeing her own face on the packaging after years of buying the formula was surreal.”I don’t have many words, but I’m honored that this happened. I am a humble person. But also, hell yeah.”

The prevalence of GLP-1 medications has changed the game in a lot of ways. Many people are on them for health benefits, including diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol management, but they’re also used for weight loss. “I don’t judge women who have to be on it,” says Maher.

But when you can’t stream an episode of “Love Island” without an onslaught of GLP-1 ads, it can feel radical not to take one. “I do feel discouraged at times,” says Maher. “I will do whatever I can to continue to stay strong of mind and to love my body in all the seasons of life. I will be bigger, I will be smaller, I will be stronger, I’ll be weaker.”

If the Sports Illustrated Swim runway is any indication, the spectrum of beauty remains just that — a beautiful spectrum. The 2026 show included a variety of powerhouse women, including Lauren Chan, Hunter McGrady, Bethenny Frankel, Gabriela Moura, Tiffany Haddish, Tunde Oyeneyin, and a pregnant Katie Austin. “We can’t all be one thing,” says Maher. “It would be an extremely boring-looking world.”

Off the runway, Maher, the ultimate poster woman for strength, recognizes a pocket of the internet aspiring to make gains at the gym. “I love seeing girls lifting and going more to the gym, saying, ‘I gotta eat my protein.’ We’re seeing an influx of women seeing that strength is beautiful,” says Maher. With the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles on the horizon, their goals mirror her own: “To be as strong as possible.”

Alana Peden is an award-winning executive storyteller, strategist, and brand shaper. She cut her teeth in print (at magazines like InStyle and More) before holding senior digital positions (at Penske Media Corporation and Bustle Digital Group). In 2017, she conceived and launched Elite Daily’s fashion and beauty verticals. More recently, she served as the editor-in-chief at StyleCaster.