Olympic rugby athlete Ilona Maher has gained praise on TikTok for standing up to a troll who made negative comments about her weight.
The rugby star from the USA, who is frequently referred to as the “TikTok queen,”utilized her platform to address a detractor who had left a now-deleted comment stating, “I’m willing to bet that person has a BMI of 30%.”
In her 1-minute video, Ilona Maher started off by saying, “Hello, I appreciate your comment. It seems like you were attempting to make fun of me, but what you said is actually true. My BMI is 30, or to be precise, 29.3.”
“Throughout my entire life, I have been labeled as overweight. This label followed me from elementary school to middle school and through high school.”
Ilona, who has risen to fame during this year’s Paris Olympics, reflected on a high school experience where she was required to turn in a physical exam report that categorized her as overweight.
@ilonamaher As long as haters keep saying dumb stuff, I’m gonna keep clapping back
“I felt extremely embarrassed submitting that… it’s just how I’ve always been. I had a conversation with my dietician, as I rely on facts rather than just what’s readily available, like you do,”she elaborated.
“During our discussion, we touched upon the topic of BMI and its limited relevance for athletes. Rather than providing valuable information, BMI simply calculates a person’s weight relative to their height. As an example, I am 5-foot-10 and weigh 200 lbs, but I have a lean mass of 170 pounds. It’s not easy to do the math in your head, is it?”
The 27-year-old ended her video by stating, “Although my BMI is 30 and I am classified as overweight, I am still going to the Olympics while you are not.”
Ilona’s TikTok video gained widespread attention, reaching over 5.2 million views. Numerous viewers expressed their admiration in the comments, with one supporter even writing, “Ilona, you are a true legend,”praising her for standing up to the critic.
“Unfortunately, I will be attending the Olympics while you will not,”one person remarked. “You are a talented athlete at the Olympic level, I believe that speaks for itself,”another person added.
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