Among all of the training, exercise, and you know… sports, roughly 70% of Gen Z are planning to tune into the Paris Olympics for the drama. In a recent survey by the flirting app Rizz, curiosity around the love lives of Olympians is a major point of interest. And there’s one athlete who is willing to deliver: USA rugby player Ilona Maher.
Maher is hoping to find love in Paris this summer during the 2024 Olympics. Or, at least has a long running bit about it. In a TikTok that has since gone viral, the Olympian jokes that she’s going to “try to couple early on,” and that she’s excited to “find love this summer.” She then referred to the Olympic Village as “the Villa,” and likened the whole experience to Love Island. Now that‘s how you get me to watch the Olympics.
@ilonamaher I got a text!!@Love Island ♬ original sound – Ilona Maher
Of course, the Love Island inside joke didn’t stop there. Two-time Olympic medalist and track star, Gabby Thomas jumped on the moment with her own post — tagging Maher in the caption. If it wasn’t clear already, we need an Olympic Villa reality show ASAP. Thankfully, Maher wasn’t done entertaining us. In another TikTok video, the rugby player is in what appears to be the cafeteria of the Olympic Village … sorry, Villa* and talks to the camera about how a man asked her to move up in line. She sits there and then discusses their wedding colors. Delulu girls have made it to the Olympics, and this is the kind of representation I’ve been looking for. Sure, she’s there to win the gold, but she is an Olympic-level athlete!! If anyone can multitask, I think she’s the one.
@itsgabbythomas @Ilona Maher newest bombshell has entered the villa 😂😂😂 #fyp #olympics #running #usa #track ♬ original sound – <3
But don’t worry, Maher isn’t the only one on her team to be getting some ~action.~ In a separate video, she’s sitting down with her teammate Naya Tapper (another badass rugby player) and explains that Naya just got a number from another athlete. Naya corrects her, saying that it was just an Instagram, but still. And the best part? Apparently Naya didn’t even have to say a word. She stared down another athlete, who then proceeded to stare at her, and then he just walked right on over and gave her his number. In the words of our new president Ilona Maher, “The power.”
@sarahmdouglasYou know what they say about the village 🤣♬ Funny video “Carmen Prelude” Arranging weakness(836530) – yo suzuki(akisai)
Alongside an apparent Love Island atmosphere, the Olympic Village is also handing out 300,000 Olympic-branded condoms with phrases like: “No need to be a gold medalist to wear it” and “On the field of love, play fair ask for consent.” So even if our athletes don’t find love, they can still probably get laid. And even though I’m (pretty) sure the main focus during the Olympics will be the actual games, it’s fun to know our athletes are open to exploring relationships. This is doing some seriously good PR for the Olympics — and a far cry from “anti-sex beds.“
