The Olympian recalls a recent “crazy” incident where she and a man were the only customers getting pedicures at a salon

Ilona Maher to the rescue!

The Olympic rugby player recalls a recent incident at a nail salon where she and a man were the only customers – and staff kept her there for her protection long after her pedicure had dried.

“When I was there, the employees were leaving, all the customers were gone, it was just me and two ladies,” Maher, 28, recalled in a “Storytime” video on TikTok. “But when I was done, this guy comes in and asks for a pedicure too, so they sit him down and we both get worked on.”

At first, Maher didn’t think much about the wait since she had replaced her usual gel pedicure with regular nail polish, which takes longer to dry. But the staff kept telling her to “wait, wait” for a while.

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“I’m waiting there, no joke, half an hour longer,” recalled the Paris Olympics bronze medalist.

Eventually, the man left and the salon staff told Maher the real reason for the delay.

“And then they said, ‘I’m sorry we kept you so long, we just wanted you to be here with us while he was there,'” Maher explained. “And I thought I completely understood at the time why they did that.”

See also: Ilona Maher says her Olympic bronze medal ‘felt like gold’: ‘We call it rose gold’ (exclusive)

The 5-foot tall athlete later shared that she ran into the man outside who asked if he could go home with her – which she quickly declined. “It’s crazy out there,” Maher said.

She continued, “And I want you to know that you can keep me as long as you want, you can keep me for another hour, I will cancel my plans if you want me for safety reasons or you want that someone is there just to have you.” Present. It’s dangerous out there.”

Maher added that she treated herself to mozzarella sticks and wine “since I did my vigilante work tonight.”

“Seriously, stay safe ladies,” she said.

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