'As long as haters keep saying dumb stuff, I'm gonna keep clapping back,' wrote Team USA's Ilona Maher.
Team USA's Ilona Maher is clapping back at online trolls.
The 27-year-old rugby center took to TikTok earlier this month to respond to a body shamer who commented that she had a body mass index (BMI) of 30, alongside a laughing emoji. But it was Maher who had the last laugh.
"I am considered overweight," she said in her TikTok. "But alas, I'm going to the Olympics and you're not."
Maher isn't ashamed of her weight or her BMI. She took the comment as an opportunity to educate her audience on why BMI isn't an accurate measurement of health or ability for everyone.
"I think you were trying to roast me, but this actually is a fact. I do have a BMI of 30 — well, 29.3 to be more exact," Maher shared. "I've been considered overweight my whole life."
In her video, Maher revealed that she weighs 200 pounds and is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, the two measurements used to calculate one's BMI.
A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered in the overweight range, according to the Cleveland Clinic. A BMI of 30 and above is obese.
An "overweight" label can result in judgment and shame, even if the person has great overall health. Maher said she has experienced this over the years, recalling turning in her physical paperwork in high school and feeling "so embarrassed" being categorized as overweight.
"I was so embarrassed to turn that in and have that written there," she said. "So my whole life, I've been this way."
But she soon learned that BMI isn't always an accurate measurement of body fatness or health. This is true for many athletes and bodybuilders because "people who are athletic tend to have a higher percentage of lean muscle mass and a lower percentage of fat mass than the average population," according to the Cleveland Clinic. In Maher's case, she has an estimated "170 pounds of lean mass."
"I chatted with my dietitian because I go off of facts and not just what pops up (in my head) like you do," Maher said, referring to the commenter. "We talked about how (BMI) really isn't helpful for athletes."
"BMI doesn't really tell you what I can do. It doesn't tell you what I do on the field, how fit I am," she continued. "It's just a couple numbers put together. It doesn't tell you how much muscle I have or anything like that. So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight. But alas, I'm going to the Olympics and you're not."
Maher proved her point with her actions on Tuesday when she and her teammates beat Australia and won the bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the first-ever rugby sevens medal for the U.S. women's team.
"As long as haters keep saying dumb stuff, I'm gonna keep clapping back," Maher captioned her TikTok.
But Maher isn't the only Olympian firing back at critics.
This week, Simone Biles clapped back at haters who criticized her hair during her Olympics performance. After leading the U.S. women's team to gold and becoming the most decorated gymnast in history, Biles took to her Instagram Story to address her trolls, writing, "Don't come for me about my hair. IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC & it's like 9,000 degrees." She also appeared to take aim at former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner's viral comments about the future champions' lack of "work ethic." Biles captioned her celebratory Instagram post on Tuesday, "Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions," adding in a trio of red heart, gold medal and U.S. flag emojis.
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