--- title: Rio Olympics 2016: Ibtihaj Muhammad Should Be US Flagbearer description: Ibtihaj Muhammad, a fencer, represents the best of America, and is a patriotic choice to be its Olympic flag bearer in Rio canonical: https://time.com/4433043/team-usa-should-pick-ibtihaj-muhammad-as-flagbearer-in-rio/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-02T15:42:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:17.490Z article:section: Sports og:title: Rio Olympics 2016: Ibtihaj Muhammad Should Be US Flagbearer og:description: Muslim-American fencer will be the first US Olympian to compete in a hijab og:url: https://time.com/4433043/team-usa-should-pick-ibtihaj-muhammad-as-flagbearer-in-rio/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7a15c89d2bb7bf1/6988900bab6d77f5046a95c0/ibtihaj-muhammed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2378 og:image:height: 1338 og:image:alt: Ibtihaj Muhammad photographed at the Fencer, New York, on feb 9, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rio Olympics 2016: Ibtihaj Muhammad Should Be US Flagbearer twitter:description: Muslim-American fencer will be the first US Olympian to compete in a hijab twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7a15c89d2bb7bf1/6988900bab6d77f5046a95c0/ibtihaj-muhammed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Team USA Should Pick Ibtihaj Muhammad as Flagbearer in Rio > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: How They Train: Fencing with Sean Gregory [Watch (HLS stream): How They Train: Fencing with Sean Gregory](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TeZ5hoMc.m3u8) (4:45)  _Published 2012-06-28. TIME reporter Sean Gregory visits the Manhattan Fencing Center to get a lesson in what Olympic coach Yury Gelman calls "physical chess"_  by [Sean Gregory/Rio de Janeiro](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory/Rio de Janeiro Senior Correspondent Aug 2, 2016 3:42 PM UTC  Ibtihaj Muhammad photographed at the Fencer, New York, on feb 9, 2016. Ibtihaj Muhammad photographed at the Fencer, New York, on feb 9, 2016. Daniel Shea for TIME  by [Sean Gregory/Rio de Janeiro](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory/Rio de Janeiro Senior Correspondent Aug 2, 2016 3:42 PM UTC In theory, the [Olympics](http://time.com/topic/2016-rio-olympics/) are a respite from the problems of the real world. More than 10,000 of the world’s greatest athletes gather peacefully in one place to compete, as the International Olympic Committee would have it, in the name of a greater human harmony. To preserve the supposed purity of this break from the messy conflicts beyond the Games, the [Olympic charter](https://www.olympic.org/olympic-studies-centre/collections/official-publications/olympic-charters) prohibits any “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” in Olympic “sites, venues, or areas.” You need not be a cynic to know that this goal is at best impossible, and at worst, a bunch of bunk. As transporting as the Games can be, the world’s broader problems are ever-present. That’s especially true at these [Rio Olympics](http://time.com/4424414/rio-athletes/), where the host nation is in the middle of an economic crisis and a political scandal that could lead to the impeachment of its president, environmental problems threaten a critical sailing venue and a [widespread doping problem](http://time.com/4421019/russia-olympic-doping-report/?iid=sr-link1) casts doubt on the validity of the results themselves. And then there is America’s presidential election, which took one of its nastiest turns yet when Donald Trump [criticized the parents](http://time.com/4432816/donald-trump-khizr-ghazala-khan/) of a Muslin-American army captain killed in Iraq after they appeared at the Democratic National Convention. **(**[**Read More: 60 Athletes to Watch in Rio**](http://time.com/4424414/rio-athletes/)**)** When the Rio Olympics kick off Aug. 5, Team USA should choose a flag bearer that offers a rebuttal to the storms brewing beyond the Olympic Village, not merely an escape. For that, the U.S. should pick [Ibtihaj Muhammad](http://time.com/fencer/), a Muslim-American fencer who will be the first American Olympian to compete in a hijab. [Muhammad](http://time.com/4301357/ibtihaj-muhammad-2016-time-100/) represents the best of the nation. The daughter of a teacher and a police officer raised in Maplewood, N.J., she took up fencing in the eighth grade, in part because the body-length uniform accommodated her Muslim beliefs. She became an All-American in the sport at Duke, where she graduated with degrees in International Relations and African and African-American studies. And she’s an entrepreneur, founding the modest-fashion label Louella to broaden the offerings available to Muslim women. **(**[**Read more: A New Face For Team USA**](http://time.com/fencer/)**)** Nor is Muhammad afraid to speak out in defense of her beliefs. After Trump called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. late last year, Muhammad told TIME: “When you incite hateful speech and rhetoric like that, the people who say it never think about the repercussions and how that affects Muslims. Specifically Muslim women who wear their religion every single day. So then you start to think, Am I going to be safe?” Like many of her American teammates, Muhammad is an inspiration to countless people. But choosing her as a flag bearer is a chance to signal something even greater about what America stands for. It would be a win for all Americans––and Team USA’s first of the 2016 Olympic Games. ## Transcript I read about fencing when I was five years old in the dictionary. There was a little picture. Two guys kind of jousting. Everyone on the U. S.. Olympic fencing team fell in love with the sport in a different way. I used to watch a lot of" Zorro ,"" Three Musketeers ". Those were like kinda my favorite movie, like the swashbuckling. But they're all headed to one place: the London Olympics. [ SOUND ] Here at the Manhattan Fencing Center in New York City, coach Uriel Ghelman is drilling his team for the Games. It's a completely different sport, than what we see in the movies. It's sometimes called, like, physical chess and I like this name because. Fencers are thinking, and thinking, sometimes, two, three steps ahead. It's very interesting. I'm Sean Gregory, sports writer for Time. [ MUSIC ] I stopped by a recent training session to learn what it takes to become a champion fencer and get a lesson from Olympic medalist Tim Moorhouse. You're gonna hold this in your left hand. This is what's actually gonna plug, plug into the sabre when I give it to you. The first step is to get suited up in electronic scoring gear. It's rigged so the scoring machine can sense a" touch ." Which is just a kind of word for" hit ." And then when we plug into the actual machines, when you connect with your opponent's metallic jacket a light will actually go on that signals that you hit. So think laser tag except you're making direct contact with your opponent. There are three types of fencing disciplines, eppe, foil, and saber. They each have slightly different rules and target areas of the body. So saber is based on the the calvary swords, so the legs are off target, and the idea was kill the rider not the horse, I don't know what happened to the horse but you won't be riding one today. And you're sure there's no way she could uppercut me? Nope. Tim showed me the basic stance. So basically, on guard means right, He showed me how to parry, a movement that deflects the attack. All the movement is along this narrow strip. [ UNKNOWN ] Advance. Good, retreat. [ NOISE ] Finally we got to my favorite part, the [ UNKNOWN ]. Your arm's are gonna go out, and your leg's are gonna lunge out, yeah. Lunge. I asked Tim to fence with me, but he was obviously too scared. So he paired me up with another beginner. How are you? Ready, fence. See your attacking now because she hasn't stopped you, so she's blocking So, now you're gonna need to [ CROSSTALK ]. I need to [ INAUDIBLE ] to go right? Yes. So you block now it's your attack. Okay, now you lunge and [ INAUDIBLE ] so you let you scored the ball. Yes. [ NOISE ] We dueled a bit more. And I got a tiny taste of the extreme exertion it takes to pass. I'm sweating. My, my heart's beating. It's like 100 degrees in this suit. Yeah Is that part of the workout of it, I mean? Fencing is a really Be a difficult workout, when you're fencing, between every point your heart rate's between 180 and 195, so it's similar to a sprinter. Most saber fencing we have very very powerful legs cause we're lunging really deep and then pulling ourselves out of it, it's really important to have fast twitch muscles you want to be able to change directions very fast, so you have to be ready to kind of like, like a cat. Shrek. It's true that you have to have strength and endurance to fence. But Coach Glavin says, those are just two elements of a fencer's success. It [ UNKNOWN ] matter how tough you are, this is the most important part and how quick you can think under the pressure, this is the most important things, very small mistake, you lose the touch. Two mistakes, you lose two touches. And then you lose a bout. And people who goes for Olympics, they must be very disciplined. You can't make mistakes. The U. S. team has to fit in their training between jobs and school. That's a big contrast with European countries that provide government funding so that athletes can train full time. Is advantage in very interesting aspect. It's psychological because those guys, they fencing for money. And they get, get in huge, huge bonuses, especially for Olympics, we don't. And we don't have so much pressure. [ MUSIC ] But make no mistake, there's still pressure. Here at the fencing center, anticipation for London is high. [ MUSIC ] I mean, I've been training very hard for this, probably my whole life. I'm looking forward to the camaraderie. Being humbled at hope, opening ceremonies. Being around some of the great athletes. Doug Marwosniak went to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as an alternate but didn't have the opportunity to compete. And my goal is to go to the Olympics and. Medal. That, that is what I'm working toward. I don't really wanna go and experience it again, I did that in 2008, so I'm ready to do some damage. For Time Video, this is Shawn Griffin. 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