Ibtihaj Muhammad makes Olympic history before heartbreak

Ibtihaj Muhammad made history, but there will be no individual medal for the American in sabre fencing.

Ibtihaj Muhammad: Celebrating a vital moment.

She also had a pointed response to recent calls by presidential candidates to restrict Muslim immigration to the U.S. “I’m thinking about every single point, I’m running through my head what I could have done differently”, she said. In the past, Muhammad said that fencing is a great sport for her because it does not require her to expose her body like swimming or gymnastics.

She advanced to round 16 in sabre fencing, the quarterfinals, after beating Ukraine’s Olena Kravatska 15-13.

When she returned, she was composed, analytical and well spoken.

There are mouth breathers out there who aren’t cool with this, but we don’t really care about them right now.

“This has been a handsome experience for me”.

“It’s hard to even put it into words. I would never have someone deny me that”. It’s a part of who I am. Initially overcome with emotion, Muhammad made the media wait more than an hour before talking after the loss.

Ibtihaj Muhammad sent her message loud and clear Monday in the Olympic fencing arena, letting it fly off the tip of her sabre and ping off her mask painted like an American flag. I believe in us, and I want us to win a medal more than anything. Dagmara Wozniak, a 28-year-old Polish-born fencer who grew up in New Jersey, was eliminated in her first bout against Greece’s Vassiliki Vougiouka.

Here’s to hoping she becomes the first hijab-wearing Olympic gold medalist this weekend.

“We talk like that as a family”, he said.

“That was one of the best moments of my life”, she said. “It’s like, well, where do we go?” She described it as “groundbreaking” that a female Muslim could make it on to Team USA. “You name it, she has that kind of support”. Maybe she takes them. She was born and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey; her father is a retired detective and her mother is a teacher. Obama told her he was counting on her winning a medal in Rio. But she understands and embraces the power of a smart, successful Muslim woman competing at the highest level of athletic competition. And it is a prejudice you occasionally see mirrored in the sporting world. We are conservatives and we are liberals. There’s women who cover and women who don’t. “I feel American to my bones”.

“I am excited to challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions people have about Muslim women”, Muhammad told BBC Sports over the weekend.