U.S. Olympic rugby sevens star Ilona Maher will compete on Dancing With the Stars, ABC announced Wednesday, continuing a remarkable streak of publicity coups for the 28-year-old from Vermont.

“It’s almost like this is a cool rite of passage,” Maher told USA Today of his place on the TV hit. “So many of my Olympic idols, from Simone Biles to Suni Lee (both gymnasts), have done (the show). And it’s a new skill that takes me out of my comfort zone.”

Maher’s rivals include actors Tori Spelling and Eric Roberts, former NFL star Danny Amendola and former NBA star Dwight Howard, another Olympic medalist, gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, and Anna Delvey, the Russian-born “SoHo crook” and convicted con artist who served nearly four years in prison for crimes including grand larceny and stealing a private jet.

Jason Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles NFL player whose support for Maher and the rest of the U.S. women’s rugby team made headlines in his home country of Paris, was not announced as a member of the cast despite rumors of his participation.

Maher’s profile was already high for an American rugby player before the Olympics, but it has skyrocketed since she helped the U.S. women beat Australia and win the bronze medal at the Stade de France in July.

Maher has become the most followed rugby star in the world. She celebrated her birthday on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and did a swimsuit photo shoot that earned her a “feminist trailblazer” in Sports Illustrated. Her endorsement of Kamala Harris for president, in which she denounced Republican threats to women’s reproductive rights, also made big headlines.

Speaking to USA Today about her role on Dancing With the Stars, Maher said: “Rugby is often about hitting with full force and throwing your body at your opponent.” “So we’ll see how I can move my body here.”

“I think my dancing skills are not really up to par. My dancing skills with my friends are OK, my ballroom dancing skills are zero. Hopefully I can transfer the ‘fun with my friends’ vibe to this ballroom dancing.”

Maher also said she was looking forward to “the glitz and glamour” of the show because, “I love dressing up. It will be really fun to wear more glitter and sequins.”

Promotional photos for the 33rd season of Dancing With the Stars showed Maher with her partner on the show, Alan Bersten. In one photo, both were flexing their biceps.

Maher, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound center, is widely celebrated for her blatant physicality on and off the field. Her powerful runs and stiff-arm takedowns have garnered headlines like, “America has an Olympic shooting star – and she plays like an NFL running back.”

Maher started playing rugby in high school in Vermont and then won three U.S. championships with Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. She first played for the U.S. sevens team in 2018 and has competed in the Olympics twice. After playing twice for the U.S. Eagles 15s team, she recently told her followers that she wants to be included in the team for next year’s Rugby World Cup in England.

On social media, Maher spreads a message of body positivity and inclusivity. In August, she told NBC Rugby: “The change in my body confidence makes me feel so good about myself and I know that can be the case for a lot of other girls too.”

Speaking to Sports Illustrated, she said she “grew up as a big girl, so I didn’t like being in pictures (and) was always… labelled as masculine or something. But I never felt that way. But I don’t think you should bully a girl who could probably beat you up in a fit of rage. I love that (rugby) showed me what I could do. It showed me how capable my body is and that it’s not just a tool to look at and objectify.”

She also said, “If my cellulite was in that perfect range, I wouldn’t be doing what I could be doing. I wouldn’t be as strong for it (so) I just think exercise has been really, really helpful.”

On Wednesday, Maher and Bersten posted short videos on TikTok that were filmed in a dance rehearsal studio in New York City.

Maher said she was “so excited” to be “led by my amazing dance partner.” Bersten said, “I’m so grateful to be doing this with Ilona Maher. Let’s go!”