Rugby star Ilona Maher claps back at body shamer with powerful message

Ilona Maher, a rugby player from the USA, won a bronze medal with her team at the Olympics in Paris. Under one of her posts on Instagram, a comment appeared criticising her weight. The internet user quickly received a response.

Ilona Maher has been encouraging her fans to accept their bodies for years. So it's no surprise that she reacted when one internet user pointed out her weight. The rugby player highlighted a specific detail.

Many people feel invincible on the internet. They also have no qualms about writing something mean under someone's post. Ilona Maher experienced this recently; an internet user criticised her size. The rugby player did not let this jab go unanswered.

"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," said the athlete.

BMI, or body mass index, is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in metres squared. It is worth adding that people with a BMI below 18.5 are underweight. Conversely, a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal weight. Any value above that is considered overweight.

This issue was also commented on by satirist and cartoonist Ahmed Goldstein.

The rugby player used the negative comment to draw her fans' attention to the fact that the BMI index does not really apply well to athletes. After all, it does not account for muscle mass, bone density, or even overall body composition.

"BMI doesn't really tell you what I can do. I doesn't tell you what I do on the field, it doesn't tell you how fit I am, it's just a couple numbers put together—it doesn't tell you how much muscle I have, or anything like that," she emphasised.