On Monday, she’ll become the first US athlete to wear a hijab during the Olympics – and a medal in fencing isn’t out of the question either.
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Muhammad crashed out of the competition in the Round of 16 against Ukraine’s Olena Kravatska however she made a huge impact during her first-ever Olympic experience.
The Hijabi girl Muhammad will compete again on Saturday in the sabre event.
Former Olympic champion Gabby Douglas received high scores in Sunday’s qualifying event, but will not compete in the all-around final to defend the gold medal she won in 2012. And she hogged the limelight, which helped her make a mark in the history of U.S.
“It represents who she’s been her entire life”. I was like, ‘I don’t know, I’ve never been, ‘ ” she said.
SERENA ADVANCES: One destroyed racket – and one poor set – later, Williams made it safely into the third round of the Rio Olympics as she bids for a second consecutive singles gold medal. There are white Muslims, Arab Muslims, African-American Muslims. And while Muhammad has already said plenty about the Republican presidential nominee, she chose to focus on the positive after losing in Rio. “I think (Trump’s) words are very unsafe”, she told CNN.
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”. I was born here. I’ve grown up in Jersey, all my family’s from Jersey. All my family’s from Jersey. “It’s challenging those misconceptions that people have about who the Muslim woman is”.
Muhammad’s siblings, parents and friends came from as far away as Los Angeles and New Jersey to cheer her, giving Muhammad a standing ovation ahead of her first match.
The gap widened after that as Muhammad argued with the referee and, at one point, drew a yellow-card warning for throwing her mask to the floor. “I always say that in a sport like fencing, you’re your own biggest opponent. If you can control yourself and your nerves and your emotions and execute your actions in the way that you want to execute, you’ll always be successful and I wasn’t able to do that today”, according to a press release from USA Fencing. “I failed to do that”, Muhammad said.
Muhammad’s history-making moment overshadowed the upset loss by teammates Mariel Zagunis in the round of 16.
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu celebrates after setting a new world record and winning the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter individual medley final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Aug. 6, 2016.
American teams took medals and broke world records on day two of the Rio Games. The other members of Team USA almost voted her to carry the opening ceremonies flag – she trailed only Michael Phelps. There are so many Muslim countries that have women as their heads of state and there are those things I want people to be aware of and see that not just those women but Muslim women who participate in sport like the Saudi Arabian team, the Kuwaiti team, the American team now. She has been whining about how she feels threatened because of her faith, and has politicized the Olympic Games with derogatory comments regarding Donald Trump’s candidacy for president. And I want us to win a medal.
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“My experiences in this sport are for that 12-year-old kid being told they don’t belong because they are black or because they’re Muslim”, Muhammad said.
