Even if you’re not a rugby fan, you’re probably familiar with the name Ilona Maher. She’s a center for the U.S. Eagles Sevens. Tick tockwhere she shares behind-the-scenes looks at professional sports (including the infamous ‘Anti-sex’ bed In the Olympic Village at Tokyo?) to criticizing female beauty standards. (e.g. Post a photo She showed off her cellulite to prove that “everyone has it,” and if you haven’t heard of her before, you soon will: She’ll once again be representing the United States on the world’s biggest sports stage.
Three years after making her debut for the U.S. at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Maher is gearing up for the next round of the Olympics. When she spoke to SELF in late May, she and her teammates were in sunny Madrid playing in the season’s final tournament before returning home to ramp up Olympic training. Less than a month later, on June 17, the official roster for the women’s rugby sevens was announced, with Maher among them. The team will soon fly to France for a week-long pre-Olympic training camp in the city of Tours, a few hours’ drive from Paris. “This will help us get used to the time difference and the weather,” Maher says. Then, it’ll be off to the City of Light to hang out with some of the world’s best rugby players.
With the Paris Olympics looming (the opening ceremony is July 26), Maher says she’s feeling both excited and a little nervous. But she’s learning to cope with the nerves. “I think it’s OK to be a little nervous. It means you care,” she says.
What can give you peace of mind when you go to such a major event? A bag packed with the essentials you need to feel safe wherever you go.
“Playing rugby can be hard, but it’s the little things that give you an escape. [make you] “I want to feel like myself,” says Maher, which is why her must-have list includes several skincare and beauty products. Previously She wears “combat makeup” with lipstick. After all, being an athlete is about more than training. “They want to take care of their skin, look beautiful and feel good about themselves,” Maher says. “Being an athlete is just a small part of who I am, so that’s really important to me.”
Here’s what’s in Ilona Maher’s Self-Care Survival Kit:
1. Serious skin protection.
We play in a variety of climates, so we need to protect our skin wherever we are. We go from UV index 2 to higher. When we played in Sydney, it was like 12. Sunscreen Sanbam Or use something really high like SPF 50. You’ll be sweating a lot while working out, so you need something that will last.
