Watch Ilona Maher’s new Barbie doll make history
Rugby star Ilona Maher has teamed up with Mattel to bring to life a new Barbie doll featuring a muscular physique similar to Maher’s.
Ilona Maher is passionate about the condom shortage caused by the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Maher, who represented the United States in women’s rugby sevens at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics, took to Instagram on May 7 to “dispel rumors” and told viewers that “a large amount” of the rubber may have been used as memorabilia.
“There were rumors that more than 10,000 condoms were used in the past Winter Olympics,” Maher said in the video. “Well, some of them were probably used for that purpose, um, but what I’m getting here is that a lot of them were used as souvenirs.”
Madagascan alpine skier Mialitiana Clair offered a similar theory in February, telling USA TODAY Sports she doesn’t think they’re all just being taken advantage of.
“I got a handful when I went to the Olympics, and now I’ve had them forever,” Maher said. “I found a condom from Tokyo on my bedside table the other day. How cool is that?”
A week before the end of the tournament, organizers confirmed that a shortage of condoms in the Olympic Village in Milan-Cortina had been replenished.
The International Olympic Committee later acknowledged that supplies had been depleted “due to higher-than-anticipated demand” and that condoms “will be continuously replenished until the end of the Games to ensure continued availability.”
“That’s the real reason, guys. Okay, they’ve probably done a little bit there, but these are just things for us,” Maher added.
How many condoms were distributed?
According to a previous USA TODAY report, only 10,000 condoms were initially distributed to athletes.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “I think 10,000 (condoms) were used. So to all the 2,800 athletes, as they say, do the numbers and do your best.”
This number pales in comparison to the 300,000 condoms provided for the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, thousands more athletes participated in the Summer Games.
Handing out free condoms to athletes in the Olympic Village has been around for decades, and has garnered public attention at every Games since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
