Ilona Maher on Keeping Her Body Fueled with Quaker Oats During Her Busy Schedule Amid ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (Exclusive)

Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher is telling PopCulture.com just how she’s staying fueled with Quaker Oats. The 28-year-old is fresh off Dancing With the Stars, where she and partner Alan Bersten were the runner-ups for Season 33, and now she’s joined England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby League, playing for the Bristol Bears for the upcoming season. Between the Olympics, DWTS, and an abroad rugby league, her busy schedule may seem exhausting, but Quaker Oats is helping her stay energized.

“I think fueling your body is so important,” she shared. “It does so much for you that it’s only fair to treat it right. Quaker Oats has great products to help make sure your body can keep up with you, no matter whether I’m dancing, training, or have a busy day on set. Carbs are fuel!”

Quaker seems to have made a big difference for her since she made it to second place on DWTS, but it’s also because, “When I put my mind to something and give it my all, I expect a lot.” Before making it to the finals, though, the show threw out an elimination twist that saw all five semi-finalists making it to the finals. Before it was revealed, though, Maher revealed she “honestly felt content” despite being in the bottom two. “I had given great performances that week and proven I should be there, so if I did go home, I would have gone knowing I gave my all,” she said.

Meanwhile, ever since the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ilona Maher has become quite a role model to women and even more so with Dancing With the Stars due to many of her empowering performances, especially her finale freestyle. But for her, it “does not feel any different being a role model.” She continued, “I have been preaching the same message for years. This was not new for me. I’ve never changed, but I think more people were taking notice. My goal isn’t to be a role model it’s to be authentically myself and I think people really resonate with that.”

Even if the last several months have been a “whirlwind,” Maher shared that going from the Olympics to DWTS “felt right.” She continued, “DWTS, in a way, feels like a rite of passage for many Olympians, and I’m always working to grow the game and get rugby out in the public eye as much as possible.”

Whether Maher is using Quaker Oats to keep energized or still working as hard as ever, she is continuing to inspire women everywhere and is as empowered as ever. With her new gig in England, it will be exciting to see what’s next for her and how she keeps her body fueled.