Ilona Maher Defends Wearing Makeup During Her Weightlifting Workouts: ‘Why Not?’
Ilona Maher Defends Wearing Makeup During Her Weightlifting Workouts: ‘Why Not?’
Skyler CarusoThu, February 26, 2026 at 6:53 PM UTC
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Ilona Maher.Credit: Ilona Maher/Instagram -
Ilona Maher defended wearing makeup during her training workouts in a new video shared to Instagram on Feb. 25
The 2-time Olympic rugby star paired her thoughts with clips of herself lifting weights, performing pull-ups and more
She often uses her platform as an advocate for body positivity and championing women in sports
Look good, feel good mentality.
Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher defended wearing makeup during her training sessions in a new video of herself lifting weights in the gym that she shared to Instagram on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
"Why do you wear makeup when you train?" reads the first text overlay on her Instagram Reel, which begins with Maher, 29, looking directly at the camera while smiling in her workout clothes at the gym.
Ilona Maher.Credit: Ilona Maher/Instagram
The Olympian, who helped Team USA bring back a bronze medal in women's rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Games, was seen wearing a white Adidas sports bra and gray leggings. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and accessorized with a dainty necklace paired with matching earrings.
"Why not? Not like it's making me weaker," read the text in the cut that followed, overlayed on various clips of the athlete engaging in a variety of fitness routines, like bench pressing two sets of 75-lb. dumbbells and performing effortless reps of pull-ups on a bar.
She captioned her post, "My mascara ain’t making my muscles smaller or my work ethic non existent."
Maher's comment section was filled with supportive words, many in agreement with her mindset.
"Look good. Feel good. Play good. Period," wrote one user on Instagram.
Ilona Maher.Credit: Ilona Maher/Instagram
"I see my make up in the gym as my war paint 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽, commented another.
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"She said what she said 🔥," wrote a third.
"Casually pressing 75lbs," pointed out a fourth user.
The two-time Olympic athlete has established herself as a role model in the sports world and beyond, serving as an advocate for body positivity and self-love via inspirational posts on her social media platforms, her House of Maher podcast, media interviews and more.
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Ilona Maher #2 of Team United States wins bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty
Maher, who's also a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model and former Dancing with the Stars competitor, shared in November 2025 a video on Instagram in which she reminded followers that you don’t need a “six-pack” to be strong and fit.
"I’m not saying six-packs are bad, but I do firmly believe that we aren’t all meant to have them and they are not a determinant of how fit or athletic you are,” she wrote in the post’s caption.
“I am a two-time Olympian in an extremely fitness-based sport. Been a professional athlete for 7 years and I have never had a six-pack,” she continued. “I used to compare myself to my teammates who did have them. Yet, I’d still be faster, stronger, and fitter than some of them.”
“Be kind to your body. We aren’t all meant to be small,” she added in part. “Take up space. See exactly what your body is capable of with or without a six-pack."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
