Sifan Hassan received praise from fans after defiantly wearing a hijab while receiving her gold medal during the final medal ceremony of the 2024 Olympics .
On Sunday, the Dutch runner delivered an incredible late kick in the final 250 meters of the women’s marathon to secure gold in an Olympic record time of two hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa claimed silver after crossing the finish line three seconds later, while Kenya's Hellen Obiri took home bronze in 2:23:10.
Hassan’s dominant performance is all the more impressive considering she had already won bronze medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Paris Games. The 31-year-old is the first athlete to medal in all three of the long distance events at the same Olympic Games since Czech Emil Zatopek accomplished the feat in 1952.
READ MORE: Flavor Flav posts defiant seven-word message after fans say Olympics should pay him
READ MORE: Jimmy Fallon slammed by fans as they demand 'NBC get him out' of Olympics
“I feel like I am dreaming,” Hassan said. “At the end I thought, ‘This is just a 100m sprint. Come on, Sifan. One more. Just feel it, like someone who sprints 200m.’”
While receiving her gold medal in front of a packed crowd at Stade de France, Hassan donned a maroon-colored hijab along with a bright orange tracksuit. The display immediately struck a chord with many fans who noted that France barred its own athletes from wearing the head covering at the Olympics.
“Sifan Hassan wearing her hijab to her gold medal crowning ceremony for the women’s marathon, after France banned females from wearing hijabs at the 2024 games. She is so powerful. What a woman!” one X user said. Another wrote: “Congrats to Hassan! Love seeing the image of her wearing hijab in the host country that banned its own athletes from wearing it.”
Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news
A third added: “Sifan, really did well in this Olympics, she is who she thinks she is. In front of billions of fans, Sifan is here. Indeed it's a very unforgettable moment for her and the entire world. Congratulations to her phenomenal success that is.”
Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera announced that athletes representing France at the Paris Games would not be allowed to wear the hijab in line with the country’s secularism principle and rules against displaying religious symbols at sporting events.
The French Sports Ministry later clarified that athletes were allowed to wear hijabs around public and in the Olympic village, though couldn’t don the headwear during competition.
The rule was swiftly met with a strong wave of backlash, as The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation argued: “This ban contradicts the principles of equality, inclusivity and respect for cultural diversity that the Olympics stand for.”
Amnesty International expressed a similar sentiment one week before the Games kicked off, writing: “French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear... that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls - those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0