American Ibtihaj Muhammad will be making history in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by becoming the first U.S. athlete to compete wearing a hijab, a garb worn by Muslim women in compliance with the teachings of Islam.
Muhammad, 30, from Maplewood, New Jersey, grabbed a spot in the U.S. Olympic team during a competition in Athens, Greece, according to CNN.
President Barack Obama gave her a shout-out on Wednesday when he visited a mosque in Baltimore, Maryland.
"Bring home the gold... No pressure," Obama told her.
During the visit, Obama told Muslims that "you're right where you belong. You're part of America, too. You're not Muslim or American. You're Muslim and American."
Muhammad told CNN that "it's a struggle to be a Muslim woman right now, for all Muslims in our country."
"We are at an interesting crossroads I think. It could get bad here," she said, adding that the continued anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. may result in situations like the Chapel Hill shooting in which three Muslim students were killed by a neighbour in February last year.
Muhammad is honoured to represent Americans in the Olympics.
"There are a lot of African American athletes, but I can't think of a female Muslim woman I can look to for inspiration as an athlete," she said.
Muhammad said she drew inspiration from the Williams sisters who have been very successful in tennis.
She said being an athlete is uncommon in the Muslim community.
"In the Muslim community, there is a sense that you are always a doctor or lawyer," she said.
Muhammad started fencing at 13 but said that at the start, she felt the sport was white-dominated.
"Black people didn't fence, and Muslims didn't either," she said. "Being an African American Muslim woman, I can be that change."
