American Muslim to Compete at the Olympics with Hijab
The 30-year-old Muslim is a fencer who wears hijab in contests and will go to the 2016 Summer Olympics wearing one, Huffington Post reported.
She won the bronze medal in the Women’s Sabre World Cup on Saturday to be
qualified to represent the US fencing team in Rio, Brazil.
"When most people picture an Olympic fencer, they probably do not imagine a person
like me. Fortunately, I am not most people," she explains in her USA
Fencing bio. "I have always believed that with hard work, dedication, and
perseverance, I could one day walk with my U.S. teammates into Olympic
history."
"I want to compete in the Olympics for the United States to prove that
nothing should hinder anyone from reaching their goals -- not race, religion or
gender. I want to set an example that anything is possible with
perseverance."
The New Jersey native has been fencing since the age of 13.
The 2016 games, or Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016 in Portuguese, will be
held from August 5 to August 21.
