Netherlands’ Muslim athlete Sifan Hassan earned global acclaim after receiving her gold medal at the final 2024 Paris Olympic Games ceremony on Sunday, August 11, while wearing a hijab, in a defiant message again France’s controversial hijab ban.

Sifan delivered an incredible burst in the final 250 meters of the women’s marathon, clinching gold with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55.

The Dutch runner had already picked up two bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m races at this Olympics.

The 31-year-old became the first athlete to medal in all three of the long-distance events at the same Olympic Games since Czech Emil Zatopek in 1952.

In previous Olympics, the men’s marathon has taken place on the final day with the medalists being presented on the podium at the closing ceremony. Paris was the first Olympics to boast gender parity, and the women’s race was run on the final day meaning the women were presented with their medals at the closing ceremony instead.

While receiving her gold medal in front of fellow athletes and a packed crowd at the Stade de France, Hassan wore a maroon-colored hijab.

The image of her stood on top of the podium struck a chord with fans after the host country controversially banned its own athletes from wearing head coverings at the Olympics.

Social Media Reactions

Viewers took to X to praise Hassan with one user saying: “Sifan Hassan wearing her hijab to her gold medal crowning ceremony for the women’s marathon, after France banned females from wearing hijabs at the 2024 games. She is so powerful. What a woman!”

Another said: “Congrats to Hassan! Love seeing the image of her wearing hijab in the host country that banned its own athletes from wearing it.”

A third user claimed it was an ‘unforgettable moment for her and the entire world’.

Similarly, Instagram users praised her, with one commenting: “The last medalist of Paris 2024 is a woman who chooses to wear hijab. The irony of that being in a host country that bans hijab in sport is incredible.”

A person wrote: “How ironic! A slap in the face of xenophobic France, which prevented its own athletes from participating because of their hijabs. And there stands Sifan proudly receiving her gold medal while wearing her hijab. FANTASTIC!”

“SUCH A STATEMENT WEARING HIJAB THANK YOU SISTER,” a netizen added.

Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelia Oudea-Castera announced athletes representing France would not be allowed to wear the hijab.

Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera announced that athletes representing France at the Paris Games would not be allowed to wear the hijab in line with the country’s secularism principle and rules against displaying religious symbols at sporting events.

The rule was swiftly met with a strong wave of backlash, as The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation argued: “This ban contradicts the principles of equality, inclusivity, and respect for cultural diversity that the Olympics stand for.”

Amnesty International labeled the Hijab ban as “discriminatory” and “hypocritical,” a week before the Games commenced, and wrote: “French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear… that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls – those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings.”

The human rights organization reportedly highlighted how banning the hijab was particularly jarring considering the 2024 Olympics was labeled as the first gender-equal Olympics – yet Muslim women were being discriminated against and singled out.

Source: MSN

Haniyah Kousar, who coaches at Impact Fitness Academy in Birmingham, said the singlet exposed the full leg and arms, with the neck line also being too low.

To compete at United World Wrestling (UWW) competitions, including the Olympics, participants must comply with uniform guidelines, which require women to wear a singlet.

“Religiously, we can’t show that skin,” Ms Kousar said.

However, students at the Impact Wrestling Academy said the restrictions would not stop them from aiming to compete on a global stage.

Student Asia said: “I dream of representing team GB in the Olympics one day and the singlet will not stop me from trying.”

One woman who could not take part in the final Team USA trials for the Paris Olympics due to the UWW rules was Jamilah McBryde.

She said: “Even though we were denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympic trials… we’re still going to fight for the right to compete, not only for myself, but for my younger sisters, for all young girls [not just Muslims], all young women for who wearing the singlet doesn’t feel comfortable.”

McBryde surprised the young girls at the Birmingham club via Zoom during one of their lessons and shared her story to empower them to fight on.

Ms Kousar, who is believed to be the UK’s first ever Muslim female wrestling coach, trains up to 20 young girls at the Impact Fitness Academy.

Despite international uniform restrictions, Ms Kousar said rules were more relaxed for competitions under the British Wrestling Association.

On their website, they say: “In line with making the sport more accessible, competition wear requirements have been relaxed for all levels of competition within the control of British Wrestling.

“For National and Club level competitions tight tops and leggings can be worn under a traditional wrestling singlet.

“For lower-level competitions, the requirement for a singlet has been removed though wrestlers will need to be clearly identifiable as either red or blue.”

Source: BBC

“If I think of basketball in England, there isn’t anybody else that I’ve seen who’s from a South Asian background, is Pakistani, is Muslim and wears a hijab,”

Hailing from Manchester, she not only plays and coaches for the Manchester Mystics but also competes in the Women’s National Basketball League Division 1.

She also represents Great Britain’s over-35s team, set to compete in the European Championship this summer in Italy.

Despite her successes might make the journey look easy, her path through the sport has come with its own challenges.

“There was a time where within basketball, you weren’t allowed to wear a hijab and that obviously changed,” Khalil added.

Taking the decision to wear a hijab in early 2010s, she was shocked to discover she wasn’t allowed to play while wearing the Islamic attire which was banned by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

In 2017 FIBA lifted the ban, meaning players did not have to decide between faith and sport.

“People just want to be able to participate comfortably. I potentially would have come back earlier if that rule wasn’t in place,” she said.

Joe Forber, Manchester Mystics co-founder and former Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero award-winner, described Khalil as a “role model”.

Source: AboutIslam.net

Before getting into the ring, Rahimi has her arms and legs covered, wearing a full-length hijab under her protective headgear. Asked whether it was comfortable or not, she said, “Oh god, it’s extremely hot. In the Solomon Islands, the humidity was insane. As soon as I put the head cover on, I was dripping sweat. But, like with fasting and training, I adjust.”

The holy month of Ramadan, during which time the Muslim faithful abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset, coincided with this year’s IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in India.

“I had to get my running in before sunrise in order to keep up my training and water levels,” Rahimi said.

She added, “I could only do one session a day. I felt very fatigued, drained. But it’s part of my religion and so it’s important to me.”

Rahimi’s achievements are not limited to qualifying to the Olympics. She was also the first female Australian Muslim boxer to compete at a Commonwealth Games when she won a bronze medal in the featherweight division (57 kilograms) in Birmingham in 2022.

She also won gold at the recent Pacific Games in Honiara, in the Solomon Islands, where she was the unanimous choice of all five judges in the final.

From running to boxing and football, the rise of inspirational Muslim women in sport is in full swing.

Last year, England’s first hijabi boxing coach Haseebah Abdullah was recognized as a Birmingham “Hometown Hero”.

Rahimi is not the only hijabi boxer. Many female Muslim boxers joined the sport after the International Boxing Association (AIBA) amended its rules in 2019. The new rules allow Muslim boxers to wear a hijab and cover full body in the ring.

Source: WAtoday