Photo: Emma Pile
Olympic fencing medalist and ambassador Ibtihaj Muhammad gave the 2018 Carlos R. and Georgiana E. Leffler Memorial Lecture Wednesday, Nov. 7 at Elizabethtown College. Muhammad is the first Muslim woman to win an Olympic medal for the United States and the first American woman to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab.
“How many tickets did you sell for tonight, five?” Muhammad joked before the lecture.
Muhammad spoke to a Leffler Chapel and Performance Center full of members of the College community and the public; all the tickets for the event had been claimed over a week before the lecture, and anyone else who wanted one was put on a waiting list.
Muhammad competed with Team USA in the 2016 Olympics as a sabre fencer, winning a bronze medal with the team. Since the games ended, she has stayed busy with projects and advocacy.
According to the program distributed at the lecture, Muhammad is an ambassador with the U.S. Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports initiative. In 2016, she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.
Muhammad and her siblings founded Louella, a clothing company designed to bring modest, affordable fashion to the U.S. After the lecture, Muhammad signed copies of her book, “Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream.”
Mattel’s first hijab-wearing Barbie doll was modeled after Muhammad.
“If having a Barbie modeled after you doesn’t indicate success, I don’t know what does,” senior Margo Donlin, who introduced Muhammad, said. Donlin plays field hockey at Etown and said Muhammad is an inspiration to her as an athlete.
The event was structured as an extended question-and-answer session. Professor of engineering and physics Dr. Kurt DeGoede and Assistant Director of Athletics Kathy Staib asked Muhammad questions about her background before opening the discussion to the floor.
One audience member started to ask a question about Muhammad’s feelings toward the attention she has received compared to that received by Muslims who have committed crimes. He was deliberately drowned out by applause in support for Muhammad from the audience.
“And this is why I’m here: to combat stereotypes,” Muhammad said after the man was escorted out by Campus Security personnel.
Sophomores Hannah Soden and Ryan Strohl said they admired how Muhammad handled the negative question with confidence and humor.
This sentiment was shared by other audience members, one of whom asked Muhammad when she plans to run for Congress.
Several questions pertained to the challenges Muhammad faced throughout her athletic career. DeGoede praised what he called Muhammad’s “see a problem and fix it” attitude.
Muhammad recalled going to sporting goods stores to look for gear that fit her religious beliefs and struggling to find clothing that would keep her sufficiently covered.
“Louella was born out of necessity,” she said.
The company’s website has grown from 10 items in 2014 to having over 80 items designed for people who want to dress modestly, regardless of their religion.
Muhammad said she also saw a problem with representation in sports, including within Team USA, which had never included a fencing athlete competing in a hijab.
She described her refusal to keep her social views silent and described how athletes are sometimes encouraged to keep to their voices within their sports.
Muhammad answered a few audience questions about fencing. Her first exposure to the sport involved seeing a high school team in their gear from a distance.
“I remember my mom saying, ‘I have no idea what that is, but I want you to try it out,’” she said.
She fenced with a different sword for three years before “[she] saw the light and switched to sabre.” She decided to try to qualify for the Olympics in 2012 and considers qualifying for the 2016 Olympics her greatest accomplishment.
One audience member asked Muhammad how her faith has helped her on her journey and about any challenges it caused.
Muhammad discussed the relative lack of camaraderie she felt on Team USA and cited her faith as something that kept her focused.
She also discussed the performance anxiety she felt as one of the top fencers in the world, whether it was triggered by experiences with coaches or with how she was seen on the team.
She said one of the greatest gifts she’s ever given herself was to ask for help and talk with a sports psychologist.
“I always think of myself as my biggest competitor,” she said.
An audience member asked Muhammad whether she plans to return to fencing for the 2020 Olympics. Muhammad speculated many possible futures for herself, some of which included fencing and others which focused on remaining as a voice for underrepresented athletes.
The audience member, who had experience with fencing, reassured Muhammad of her place in the fencing world.
In the meantime, Muhammad has a few upcoming or ongoing projects, including working with Nike to develop a sports hijab. Late in the lecture, Muhammad speculated creating a nonprofit to help athletes from underrepresented groups.
“One of my mottos is that what’s meant for me will never miss me,” she said.
