Ibtihaj Muhammad made history in her Olympic debut for Team USA becoming the first American to wear a hijab during competition at the Olympics.
The New Jersey native viewed her presence as an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than herself.
“I feel like this is a great opportunity and a great moment for Team USA to even be more diverse than we have in the past, and I’m just looking forward to representing myself, my community and also my country,” Muhammad told the Associated Press.
Teammate Mariel Zagunis reached the Round of 16 but lost to 22-seed Ekaterina Dyachenko of Russia. Zagunis had hoped to improve on her fourth place finish at the London Games. Instead, this is her worst finish at the Olympics. Fellow U.S. fencer Dagmara Wozniak did not advance out of her Round of 32 bout.