Congrats to #DalilahMuhammad! The first #US woman EVER to win #Gold in the 400 meter hurdles! #Rio2016 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/AkHIRevGH8— kweliTV (@kweliTV) August 19, 2016
Tazeen Hasan
Another Muhammad represented the USA in the Rio Olympics and also struck gold. And while she didn't get the deserved attention in the media as hijab-wearing Ibtihajaj Muhammad did for all the wrong reasons, Dalilah Muhammad has also brought a gold for America. Worth mentioning it’s the first time an American woman has won a gold medal in this event. And yes, it is another slap in the face of bigotry and anti-Muslim rhetoric rampant today in American politics and media alike.
I Just came across this breaking news from NBC that Dalilah Muhammad won the first ever gold by a U.S. woman in the 400m hurdles, beating the field by nearly a half second. Teammate Ashley Spencer won bronze as they captured the 99th and 100th American medals in Rio.
Born in 1990, Dalilah belongs to Jamaica neighbourhood mostly inhabited by Afro-Americans, Latinos and Asians in Queens county of New York city. and has won several medals in the past.
An American National Champion for the Year 2013 and 2016, she has several outstanding achievements including a personal record of 52.88 seconds for 400m hurdles. In the past, she was a gold medalist at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics and silver medalist at the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships. As a student of University of Southern California on the Sports Scholarship, she ran for the USC Trojans where she was a four-time All-American at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
#DalilahMuhammad gives #Trump the middle finger salute by becoming the 1st woman & Muslim-American to win Gold. https://t.co/wqeZRZLrDP— salman ahmad (@sufisal) August 19, 2016
#DalilahMuhammad becomes the first woman to win the gold in the 400m hurdles! Congratulations on this legendary... https://t.co/0ympJeYq3h— Smooth R&B 105.7 (@krnb1057) August 19, 2016
Surprisingly, Muhammad did not get media coverage like hijab-wearing Ibtihaj Muhammad. I came across the news at NBC News (delivered to my inbox) and googled for further information. No mainstream news outlet has headlines for a woman who brought gold for America. She is another slap in the face of bigotry and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
However, an outlet Hollywoodlife.com stated: "It was the first time ever that the U.S.A. did a clean sweep in a women’s track and field events and will probably be one of the biggest highlights of the Rio 2016 games!"
Hurdles are suddenly v interesting to me #dalilahmuhammad 💥💜🔥 pic.twitter.com/PiDYUgYKvy— Ami Allen-Vath (@amilouiseallen) August 19, 2016
Muhammad's parents, Nadirah and Askia Muhammad who attended Rio to cheer for her, had told New York times earlier this month that Muhammad’s Muslim faith, along with her discipline and talent, has been instrumental in her reaching the Olympics.
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