Ilona Maher Trades Custom Pins with Simone Biles

Ilona Maher and Simone Biles are bonding at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In addition to being the best of the best in their respective sports, the American rugby union player, 27, and the American artistic gymnast, also 27, have even more in common than going for the gold!

“So we all know iconic Simone Biles,” Maher, who helped Team USA win bronze in the rugby tournament on Tuesday, July 30, began in a TikTok video posted on Thursday, Aug. 1. 

The athlete explained, “Simone Biles made her own custom pins, and my sisters made custom pins for me as well.”

While recording, Maher focused the camera onto her special accessory.

“So, I gave my custom pin to Simone, and she’s gonna give me hers,” Maher continued. 

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The clip then transitioned to a smiling Biles entering the outdoor area Maher had been waiting in as she extended her hand in anticipation of what she was about to receive.

As Biles grew closer, her smile grew bigger. And as promised, she handed her custom pin over to Maher. 

“Yay! So exciting,” Maher said. 

“@Simone Biles my christmas gift @Olympics @Team USA @paris2024,” she captioned the TikTok. 

Outside of competing, both women have been making their voices heard. 

On July 10, Maher made a TikTok response to a user who seemed to be making rude comments about the rugby player’s weight.

“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 exact,” Maher said at the start of the clip.

After sharing that she’s “been considered overweight my whole life,” Maher recalled a time in high school when she had to do a physical and turn in her results to the principal’s office — written on her paper was the word “overweight.”

She said her entire life has been much of the same. 

Maher also gave a quick lesson on BMI, adding, “Alas, I’m going to the Olympics — and you’re not.”

Meanwhile, Biles has been open this Olympics about prioritizing her mental health. 

“I think, before, I was pushing down my trauma, and now I’ve learned to speak on it and kind of release that. So that’s really helped me, and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing today,” the most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympic history told Today’s Hoda Kotb on Wednesday, July 31, about her therapy journey. 

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