A CNN host believes that a Muslim-American fencer is more deserving of holding the American flag of the opening ceremony of the Olympics than Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time.
Advertisement
“I’m hopeful that in my efforts to represent our country well as an athlete, that they change the rhetoric around how people think and perceive the Muslim community”, Muhammad added.
“It is a joyous experience for a parent to know your child just went to the Olympics”, he said.
New Jersey native Ibtihaj Muhammad advanced to the round of 16 in sabre fencing with a 15-13 win over Ukrainian athlete Olena Kravatska. While she unfortunately was eliminated from the individual competition on Monday, she and the United States of America fencing team will have a shot at the gold in the team competition which takes place on Saturday, August 13th.
“It represents who she’s been her entire life”. Ever since she was a little girl, she never let anything hold her back.
“I tell her, I tell all my girls all the time, ‘Don’t argue with a man.’ And I think that’s good advice from any father to her daughter”, said Muhammad, 64.
Of the perception among some in the population that Muslims are not loyal citizens, she said “I don’t have another home to go to”. “That was a lovely experience to see women in hijab from all around the world be involved in sport and be present at this level of sport”, she says, calling that night in the stadium in Rio one of the best moments of her life. While you haven’t said this yet, I’m sure this is what you are going to do, because you are not only an Olympic hero, you are – by medal count – the Olympic hero. “That’s what people come out to see”. “But I love my teammates and I believe in them”. No matter what happens in my life, I try to accept it for what it is.
A torn ligament in her hand kept Muhammad from trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. But the leg injury leading up to the Olympics made it a less-manageable goal to pursue. Mostly her face would have disappeared in the montage of head shots the US Olympic Committee publishes of all 554 athletes who are here, barely recognizable in the mosaic that is America.
Still, why not aim high?
“The trainer hit me pretty hard with one and left a couple of bruises”, Phelps said.
Adam Peaty of Britain also set a world record for the men’s 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 57.13 seconds to win gold.
She found a short cut out of the media area after her loss, so print reporters had no idea of her emotional state. The suction pulls the skin away from the muscle and draws oxygenated blood to the area.
She lay flat on her back on the strip for several seconds.
President Rodrigo Duterte sent his congratulations to Diaz, an Air Force soldier, saying she brought honor to the country.
NBC ordered Trautwig to delete his tweet. Ron Biles, her maternal grandfather, and his wife Nellie adopted Simone 16 years ago.
The Philippines is celebrating the silver medal won by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz at the Rio Olympics – a happy break to the Southeast Asian nation’s 20-year medal drought.
Advertisement
Considering that “anti-Semitic crimes accounted for roughly 60 percent of religious hate crimes previous year”, according to a 2015 Washington Post report, and “anti-Muslim crimes now make up about 13 percent of religiously-motivated hate crimes”, the Jewish-American Olympic competitors would have had more reason to speak out about not feeling safe in America.
