Maher's Americans join Kiwis, Aussies and France in an unbeaten bunch in rugby sevens at Olympics

PARIS — Ilona Maher often uses TikTok and Instagram to draw attention to the U.S. women's rugby sevens team.

She took matters into her own hands at the Olympics on Sunday, shoving off a defender on a solo run to the tryline that was one of the biggest highlights of her team's opening win over Japan.

One of the breakout social media stars of the Tokyo Olympics three years ago with her fun takes on village life for athletes in the pandemic era, Maher knows that winning a medal at the Paris Games would significantly boost the brand.

Told that recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce was there watching — a day after the NFL veteran and his wife, Kylie, attended the women’s field hockey match between the U.S. and Argentina — Maher saw it as a great chance to recruit.

“Hopefully, he can see that rugby sevens is not so different to football and he can bring a bit of attention to it in America," Maher said.

The top four ranked teams all finished Sunday on two wins apiece and assured of quarterfinals spots, with defending champion New Zealand leading Pool A following lopsided wins over China and Canada, 2016 gold medalist Australia dominating Pool B and the U.S. and France unbeaten ahead of their Pool C showdown on Monday.

There were plenty of attention-grabbing moments on the first of three days of the women's tournament.

Raquel Kochhann, who recovered from breast cancer and treatment to return to the Brazil’s team this season, got to play in her third Olympics.

Maddison Levi scored four tries, including three in the first half, during Australia’s 34-5 opener against South Africa. She added another three in a 36-5 win over Britain. Just for good measure, her sister Teagan Levi scored once in each game to increase the family tally to nine.

Michaela Blyde scored four tries in New Zealand's 43-5 win over China, but she was shut out in a 33-7 win over Canada before being replaced in the second half.

China recovered from its opening loss with a 40-12 surprise against Fiji, putting six tries on the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists.

The French women opened with a 26-0 win over Brazil and followed with seven tries in a 49-0 thrashing of Japan, a day after France won the men's gold medal with Antoine Dupont scoring two tries in a 28-7 win over two-time champion Fiji.

Competition continues Monday with the end of the group stage and quarterfinals, and the medal matches are on Tuesday.

Maher has already produced a moment that personified the posts she sends on social media about strong, athletic women.

In the second half of the 36-7 win over Japan, she ran around two defenders and shoved Hanako Utsumi out of the way with a left-arm fend in an 80-meter run to the line. Then she waved to a section of U.S. fans in the crowd. She scored again in a 24-5 win over Brazil.

“It's really important to have a profile, and a profile for our sport," Maher said of her million-plus following on Instagram. “We are female rugby players — we’re not getting million dollar contracts, we’re not getting paid the money that we should be.”

“Me and my friends are keen on getting the sport out there and getting us noticed," she added. “The game is very strong, not just for men, but for women too.”

Kochhann wanted her Olympic comeback to be motivational for other women.

“It's a big victory for me to be able to be here and play for Brazil," Kochhann said, recalling all the support she had during her lengthy absence from the playing field. "So this is not just for me but for all my teammates. It is like a big family.

“My intention is to show other women that cancer can be a process, it’s not the final thing. It is how you face the situation that makes the big difference."