This Black Woman Will Make History as the First U.S. Olympian to Compete in a Hijab

By Sameer Rao Feb 03, 2016

When she competes at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Ibtihaj Muhammad will make history as the first member of Team USA to compete while wearing a hijab. 

Muhammad, who is Black, secured her spot by winning a bronze medal during the fencing World Cup in Athens on Saturday (January 30). She is now the second-highest-ranking fencer on Team USA’s women’s squad. 

In an interview on TeamUSA.org, Muhammad said that she pursued fencing at the professional level in part to help break barriers in the sport:

“After I graduated from college, I saw there was a lack of minorities in the sport,” Muhammad told TeamUSA.org. “I recognized that I had a skill set, so I started to pursue fencing full time. I felt that it was something the squad needed. There were barriers that needed to be broken in women’s saber.”

(H/t Al Jazeera America, TeamUSA.org)