Ilona Maher DWTS performance: How Olympic rugby star won over social media in 'Dancing with the Stars' debut

Ilona Maher started off the 33rd season of "Dancing with the Stars" with a bang Tuesday night.

In the debut of the 33rd season of the popular dancing competition show, 13 new contestants joined with their coaches to introduce themselves to the crowd and complete their first dance.

Ilona Maher didn't enter 2024 as a household name. But she captained the U.S. Olympic rugby team and became a social media darling during the Summer Games, with her humor front and center in her content. Maher cemented her stardom with her hefty stiff arms against opponents. She helped Team USA win a historic bronze medal.

Since the Olympics, she has capitalized on her newfound fame — including at the Emmy Awards earlier this week, during which she interviewed celebrities on the red carpet.

Let's take a look at how Maher did in her debut episode of DWTS.

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Ilona Maher's DWTS performance video

The theme of the first episode of "Dancing with the Stars" was personal anthems. Maher danced to "Man, I Feel Like a Woman," an iconic song from country singer Shania Twain — and a fitting choice for Maher, a strong, athletic woman who wants to be an icon for young girls and to expand their mindset of what femininity can look like.

Maher's nerves came through a bit during her dance. She is plenty strong enough to compete, but her flexibility came into question.

Maher eventually relaxed and loosened up, though. And the judges reward her with a score of 18, which caused her to erupt in excitement.

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Who is Ilona Maher's DWTS partner?

Alan Bertsen, Maher's coach and dancing partner, is a professional Latin and ballroom dancer. He is no stranger to dancing television competitions, having appeared on the 10th season of "So You Think You Can Dance."

Maher has a successful coach, as Bersten won the 28th season of DTWS with former "Bachelorette" star Hannah Brown. Bertsen began with the backup dancers in the show in season 20 but became an official coach in season 25 and has been paired with someone every season since.

MORE: Walk-off win secures historic finish for U.S. rugby at Paris Olympics

How old is Ilona Maher?

Maher was born in in Burlington, Vermont, in 1996. The 28-year-old grew up in Vermont and lived there until she attended Quinnipiac University, where she majored in nursing. Maher also got her MBA from DeVry University in 2022.

She played rugby for Quinnipiac and has been a member of the U.S. national team since 2018.