- Ibtihaj Muhammad, 30, has enough points to secure her spot at Rio 2016
- Started fencing because the uniform covered her entire body
- Owns a clothing line for women who want to dress modestly
- Brought diversity to a 'white sport reserved for people with money'
A fencer from New Jersey is set to become the first American to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, 30, of Maplewood, won enough points at the Women's Saber World Cup in Athens, Greece, where she won a bronze medal last weekend, to secure her spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Her family introduced her to fencing when she was 13 as the uniform covered her entire body.
'Because they were fully covered, my mom suggested that I should try it out when I got to high school,' she said in her International Fencing Federation[2] biography.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, 30, will be the first American to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab. She has earned enough points to secure her spot in the Rio 2016 competition
Muhammad, of Maplewood, New Jersey, pictured practicing a yoga pose in New York, began fencing because her parents thought the uniform, which covers the whole body, was convenient for a Muslim woman
'As a Muslim female, the sport was uniquely accommodating. My religion requires that my body be fully covered and fencing did just that.'
Her mother supported her throughout her childhood, driving her from one practice to the other.
'Most parents tell their kids before matches to do their best, or to have fun," Muhammad told Buzzfeed[3]. 'My mom always said the same thing: "Don't waste my money."'
She was glad to bring more diversity to fencing.
'Historically, it's always been a white sport reserved for people with money,' Muhammad told Buzzfeed. 'I don't think it's a good representation of the US, or of society as a whole.'
Muhammad won a bronze medal , pictured at the Women's Saber World Cup in Athens, Greece, last weekend, earning her place at the Summer Olympics
The fencer (left), pictured against Ilaria Bianco (right) at the Women's Team Sabre competition in 2011, began with epee and switched to sabre at 16 years old. She is now ranked 7th in the world in her category
Her sister Faizah, 24, is a two-time state champion in individual sabre.
Muhammad, a graduate from Duke University, also owns Louella, a clothing company for women who want to dress modestly.
She started it after she got tired of the lack of affordable options for young women, as the clothes she found online often had to be shipped from countries such as Kuwait or Dubai.
'There weren't things that me or my friends would wear,' she told USA Today[4]. 'We wanted something not that just was modest, we wanted something that was affordable.'
Muhammad, a 2014 World Champion, was also the first Muslim woman to represent the US in an international competition.
She began fencing with epee and switched to sabre when she was 16 years old. She is now ranked 7th in the world in that category with 134 points.
A graduate from Duke University, Muhammad also owns a line of clothing for women who want to dress modestly, named Louella
References
- ^ Clemence Michallon For Dailymail.com (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ International Fencing Federation (fie.html.infostradasports.com)
- ^< /small> Buzzfeed (www.buzzfeed.com)
- ^ USA Today (www.usatoday.com)
