Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes

Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes — page 3
4 Dear Rebels FOREWORD As a child my parents were eager to find a sport for me to play one with a modest uniform to accompany my hijab That's how we found fencing I loved everything about it from the speed and strength to the carefully planned strategy of the sport But sometimes it was lonely None of the other fencers looked like me There were few other Black or brown athletes on the fencing team and definitely no other Muslim girls in hijab But I didn't let that stop me What I loved most about fencing was the thrill of getting better After I graduated from Duke University I chased the dream of one day becoming the first woman of color to compete for the US National Team in sabre I started from the bottom with no experience on the senior level and certainly no experience on the World Cup circuit I challenged myself to get better and to change the sport I loved I went from being a young 20 something qualifying for my first US World Championship Team in Paris France to becoming one of the best fencers in the world As a five time world medalist and world champion the true peak of my career came in 2016 when I qualified for my first Olympic team I had a unique opportunity to change the narrative about the Muslim community and challenge the way people viewed us That summer at the Rio Olympic Games I became the first woman in hijab to represent the United States and the first Muslim American woman to win an Olympic medal I have proved the impossible is possible Now I hope that young kids who look like me kids with brown skin and who maybe wear hijab know that there is space for them in any sport they love And that's why I love books like this books that celebrate women in sports Rebel Girls Champions showcases women from all over the world