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'DWTS' runner-up Ilona Maher wants this SI swimsuit model on ABC's hit show — and so do we

“I think she would do amazing. She’s the best. She would just nail it," rugby champion IIona Maher said about her fellow SI model.

'Dancing With the Stars' has often cast illustrious sports personalities to compete for the Mirrorball trophy. Season 33 witnessed Women's Rugby League champion IIona Maher finish as runner-up with her partner Alan Bersten. "Well, I've learned that dance is very hard and that it maybe is not what brings me so much joy, but I love watching it," Maher exclusively told People after wrapping up her journey on the coveted reality show. The Olympian made the tough decision to "hang her dancing shoes" and has vowed never to attempt ballroom dancing again; however, she does have another spirited athlete in mind who she thinks has the potential to win season 34. 

“I’d love to see Ali Truwit on there,” Maher was heard gushing about her fellow SI Swimsuit model during Swim Week. “I think she would do amazing. She’s the best. She would just nail it. And she’s such a hard worker, she’s an athlete. She could do it.” Truwit, a Paralympian, has become an icon for the young generation of sportswomen after surviving a shark attack that tragically led to the amputation of her left lower leg. The two-time silver medalist celebrated the second anniversary of her surgery along with her 25th birthday by strutting on the runway for SI Swimsuit in Miami, Florida. 

“I was a 22-year-old girl who had just graduated college and, in a flash, had become an amputee for the rest of my life,” the Yale graduate told NBC Olympics about the aftermath of the shark attack. “Body image is a really hard thing for me. I remember in the early days I’d look in the mirror and just sob and be like, ‘I’m so ugly now.’ The immense struggle of learning how to use a prosthetic, the pain, and the flashbacks, and then not loving myself in a new body was something that was really hard.” 

Truwit later found renewed passion for swimming and qualified as an S10 swimmer for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. “It makes me feel really grateful that I was able to come into the Paralympic space because it's a space where I can appreciate all I do have and focus on all that I can do, as opposed to what I don’t have,” she said after winning two silver medals. Meanwhile, Maher openly discussed her retirement from the dance world via an Instagram video. 

The Sports Illustrated model confessed that it was a tough decision, but she wanted to share it personally with her fans. "After careful consideration, I have decided to retire from dance," she said in the reel. “I am a fresh-old dancer. You all know this. Um, never said it was a good one, but I am a pro. I think I gotta hang up my dancing shoes." She joked that in the future, she never wanted to learn a dance step again. Additionally, she thanked her fans for their support and also requested them to refrain from believing fake tabloid stories about her retirement.