Is Ibtihaj Muhammad the first woman wearing a “hijab” to win a medal in the history of the Olympics?

Ibtihaj Muhammad the first Muslim American woman to wear a “hijab” while competing for the United States in the Olympics and actually wins a medal.

So is she the first woman wearing a “hijab” to win a medal in the history of the Olympics?

The first noticeable Olympic appearance for women wearing a uniform meeting the Islamic standards widely –and mistakenly- known as hijab was back in London Olympics 2012 when the American-born track and field athlete Sarah Attar competed as one of the first two females representing Saudi Arabia, the second one was the Judo Player Wojdan Ali. However, none of them won a medal.

Rio Olympics 2016 marked a significant participation of women wearing uniforms meeting the Islamic standards in various games. The photo of the Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy versus her German competitor went viral reminding us how sports build bridges between cultures. Women from Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and several other countries enjoyed competing in their favorite games wearing a uniform meeting the standards of their cultures and believe which is a significant progress on many levels.

The Moroccan Nawal El Moutawakel is reported to be the first female Muslim born on the continent of Africa to become an Olympic champion and win a medal in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. However, she had not competed in a “hijab”.

So does that make Ibtihaj Muhammad the first woman with a “hijab” and an Olympic medal?

Rio Olympics 2016 witnessed awarding four women wearing uniforms meeting the Islamic standards with medals the Egyptian Sara Ahmed in weightlifting, The American Ibtihaj Muhammad in fencing, The Egyptian Hedaya Wahba in taekwondo and the Iranian Kimia Alizadeh in taekwondo. Each one of them achieved historical success story.

The 18-year-old Sara Ahmed is reported to be the first woman from an Arab country to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting. Sara Ahmed won her bronze medal on the fifth day of Rio Olympics 2016, on Wednesday 10^th of August 2016.

Ibtihaj Muhammad the first American woman to compete in a uniform meeting the Islamic standards won her bronze medal on the 8^th day of the Olympics which was the 13^th of August 2016.

The Egyptian Hedaya Wahba and the Iranian Kimia Alizadeh -who is the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal- both won their bronze medals in women`s 57 kg taekwondo -and were awarded on the same stage- on the 13^th day of the Olympics which was the 18^th of August 2016.

Given that, it seems that the Egyptian Sara Ahmed is the first woman in the history of the Olympics to compete and win a medal wearing a uniform meeting the Islamic Standards.