Ibtihaj Muhammad is a saber and United States fencing team member who won a bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She became the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab (headscarf) while competing in the Olympics.
Muhammad was born on December 4, 1985, to Eugene Muhammad, a Newark, New Jersey police officer, and Denise Muhammad, an elementary school special education teacher in Maplewood, New Jersey. Muhammad attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. While attending Columbia High School, she joined the school fencing team, where she became team captain and helped the team win two state championships. Muhammad graduated from Columbia High School in 2003.
After graduating from high school, Muhammad attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, on an academic scholarship. During her Freshman Year, she earned All-America honors with a record of 49-8. She also placed second at the mid-Atlantic/South Regional and 21st at the Junior Olympics. The following year Muhammad finished 11th for saber at the NCAA Championships and earned her second consecutive All-America honors. A third All-America honors would come in 2006.
In 2007 Muhammad graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees in international relations and African and African American Studies. In 2009 Muhammad was trained and coached by the 2000 United States Olympian, Akhi Spencer-El. That same year, she won a national title. During her career, Muhammad would win numerous victories in fencing including with the United States National Team where she won gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games. She also won gold at the 2014 World Championships, and bronze at the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015 World Championships.
In 2016, Muhammad earned a spot on the United States Olympic Team. It made her the first American athlete to compete in the Olympic Games while wearing the hijab. Muhammad was defeated by Cecilla Berder of France in the second round in the Women’s Individual Saber competition in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Despite the loss, Muhammad earned the Bronze medal. During the same year, Muhammad made the list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2016 in Time Magazine.
In January 2017, President Barack Obama nominated Muhammad to the President’s Council of Fitness, Health, and Nutrition. In 2018, Mattel released a Barbie doll that included her wearing a hijab modeled after Muhammad. That same year, Muhammad released her memoir, Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream. Muhammad’s memoir details her journey from childhood growing up in New Jersey to the U.S. Olympic Team fencing team. She also talks about the racism and xenophobia she experienced. Muhammad was also a sports ambassador with the U.S. Department’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative. Muhammad remains active as of 2023.
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“Ibitaj Muhammad,” Ibitaj Muhammad, https://www.ibtihajmuhammad.com/; “Ibitaj Muhammad,” National Women’s History Museum, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ibtihaj-muhammad; Ibitaj Muhammad, Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream (New York City, New York: Legacy Lit Books, 2018).
