The Paris Olympics brought a lot of great performances to the audience, no matter what the sport was. Similarly, in rugby sevens, Ilona Maher won the bronze medal, but right after the event she didn’t hesitate to make an off-sport adventure appearing in the reality show Dancing With The Stars. She even stunned a lot of people with her performances, becoming an inspiration to many.

So who did she inspire? It was none other than the English rugby sevens player Emily Scarratt, who was taken aback by the antics of Maher, as she considers her to be representing the sport in a good light out there by taking part in competitions like the DWTS. However, Scarratt herself has chosen an off-sport adventure, which is spending her time in nature doing farming.

Healing with the help of nature

Emily Scarratt has spent her childhood growing up on the farms of Leicester. Watching her family, especially her father and brother, work their entire day with dedication to nature inspired her to be a tough person. While farming is an unpredictable business, she doesn’t blame nature for its shenanigans, as she acknowledges that’s the way it always has been.

Even though Scarratt is almost always busy with her training and game schedules, she did tend to stick to farming a lot when she was recovering from a neck injury. The injury also made her stay away from the sport for around thirteen months, but it didn’t deteriorate her confidence with the sport, as she accustomed herself to spending time with nature on her family’s farm. “In a way, farming was a great preparation for rugby because sometimes things are out of your control like injuries.” Scarratt opened up on how she connected the unpredictable nature of the sport with farming during an interview with the Olympics.com and also said, “That’s given me a slightly more relaxed nature just to go with things, figure out what the next step is, attack it, and repeat the process.”

Sports, whether it be rugby or any other out there, always have things that are beyond the control of a player. Mishaps take place and result in injuries to major athletes who tend to spend their time out of the scene for a while. However, the English rugby player is aware of the concept, and to cope with her neck injury, she found a brilliant way to take the time off and recover to the fullest.

Furthermore, Scarratt revealed the tough mindset that keeps her pursuing more heights in the sport she adores, stating, “So no matter what happens in rugby, I remember to enjoy it as some people are going through a hell of a lot worse stuff.” Luck is not always on one’s side, and she is aware of it. Surely, she suffered a major injury, but she was more keen on recovery, which was further enhanced by spending her time farming. 

In the same interview, she also admired the contribution that Ilona Maher has made, influencing many women athletes like her. While Scarratt admired the American athlete’s skills on the pitch, she also mentioned her off-sport adventure, stating, “She’s doing Dancing with the Stars at the moment and showcasing rugby in a really good light. Hopefully, she gets back into the game and brings that whole audience back with her.”

Maher’s contribution to rugby sevens is huge. She has her own following, which moves with her, and she is crucial for the popularity of the sport’s various events throughout a campaign. And as she has been involved in the DWTS lately, her whole fanbase was interested in her finale performance, which was surely amazing, yet she wasn’t able to get the title.

S0 close yet so far for Ilona Maher

The Dancing with the Stars season 33 finale had everyone’s eyes locked on the five finalists. However, most of them were more interested in watching the Olympic medalists Stephen Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher perform at their very best, just like they have done throughout the whole season of the reality show. Both of them were keen to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, but neither of the two got their hands on it, which surprised a ton of fans out there.

But did they receive anything else? Surely they did. It wasn’t all heartbreak for the two Olympians who made it so far into the reality show with their talent outside of the sport, as throughout their journey in the DWTS, they have made at least close to half a million dollars. The rules of the reality show are quite simple when it comes to the payment of the participants. As per many sources, these contestants earn $125,000 just from signing the deal. There’s also more involved when a participant makes it to the further rounds, which range from $10,000 to $50,000. So, DWTS wasn’t just any simple endeavor for Maher, as after the reality show, her bank account was no less than a happy person.