In a domain where rivalries are a constant, is a new trend crawling in? Well, it sure looks that way, since a new post-Olympics friendship is brewing! On one hand, Ilona Maher has nailed it on a dance reality show and is now making her big UK rugby debut. On the other, Tara Davis-Woodhall has been busy moving houses and is now sitting through social media chat shows. But the door to their possible friendship just swung wide open recently!

The two absolutely crushed it in Paris, with one leading Team USA to their first-ever Olympic medal in rugby sevens, a glistening bronze, while the other bagged a gold in the long jump and ran straight into her husband’s arms. Naturally, their winning moments made them household names beyond the Games. But Tara Davis-Woodhall believes, Maher made her Olympics experience a lot better! And how is that?

Making an appearance on the Beyond The Record podcast, Woodhall, Hunter and Tara spoke to the track phenoms, Noah Lyles and Rai Benjamin. That’s where the couple got praised by the track stars for the way they’ve turned into influencers after the Olympics. But when asked, whom they look up to from the standpoint of putting exceptional content out there, Tara had a clear favorite— Ilona Maher. The other track stars agreed in unison, stating how Maher’s truly got hold of the social media game!

Replying to Rai Benjamin, the women’s long jump Olympic champion, Davis-Woodhall stated, “There’s a lot of people like, I mean Ilona right now.” Her comment got instant nods from everyone in the room. “Oh, yeah,” Hunter Woodhall seconded his wife. He even added, “She needs to be a damn case study.” While Benjamin took it a notch further, as he reacted to Ilona Maher’s social media presence saying, “Instagram loves her bro. She is the algorithm.”

Well, it’s true. Ilona Maher has not just been a role model for body positivity lately, but also an active social media face. And naturally, Tara Davis-Woodhall agrees that Maher’s pumping out some great quality content! She even recalled the Paris times and stated, “No, she is the algorithm, like she is Instagram. Like when the Olympics was happening I was like thank you for entertaining me because like I genuinely, I didn’t know any of this stuff was happening at the Olympics.”

In the midst of the intense competition in Paris Ilona Maher was someone who was truly keeping it light over her social media. She shot lighthearted content with stars like Coco Gauff, Katie Ledecky, and Jason Kelce, adding a spin to her fangirl moments. While the hilarious content with her rugby teammates depicted all the fun they had in the French capital. In fact, Maher even made transition videos to show off her opening and closing ceremony fits!

Well, Tara Davis-Woodhall herself is much of a social media queen. But there is one aspect that both she and Ilona Maher strike a commonality over. And what’s that?

Tara Davis-Woodhall shares this one trait with Ilona Maher

The two, Davis Woodhall and Ilona Maher are mega women’s sports stars who have risen to the top in 2024. But, they are equal supporters of the whole ‘women’s sports’ revolution. It’s something they’re both incredibly passionate about, and it shows in their actions. No wonder Ilona Maher turned up to watch the women’s soccer match in Paris with a t-shirt that read, “tout le monde regarde le sport feminine” which basically translates to, “Everyone watches women’s sports!”

Similarly, even Tara Davis-Woodhall has been a fierce advocate for women’s sports progressing by leaps and bounds. She’d previously spoken to 13 Sports saying, “Women were not supposed to be athletes. Women were not supposed to be doing anything but bearing children and cooking in the kitchen. And now we have the most medals.” She strongly believes that there’s no challenge too tall for women, who have proved that they’re capable of doing everything.

And now, she’s thanked Maher for making her Olympic experience better. Do you think this is the start of a new friendship? Let us know below!