Three months. That’s all that remains until the 2016 Summer Olympics kick off in Rio de Janeiro.
Naturally, Chicago sports fans in particular have been focused on the NFL draft, the Blackhawks’ early playoff exit and Chicago’s unstoppable baseball teams. If you’ve been wondering what’s been going on in Brazil, the short version is that government corruption, highly polluted water and the Zika virus have dominated headlines.
Those concerns dotted the discussion during espnW’s recent Women + Sports event in Chicago, though the Olympic landscape is far from gloom and doom. RedEye recently caught up with a pair of American athletes seeking to put an exclamation point on this year’s games.
IBTIHAJ MUHAMMAD
Age: 30
Sport: Fencing
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Get to know her because: Muhammad will become the first American to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab, the traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women. She officially qualified for Brazil in January.
How concerned are you about the Zika virus?
The Olympic team has always been a dream of mine, and I’m very excited for Brazil. I still feel like we have a few months left, and I feel like there’s some more information out there. Hopefully we’ll have more information the closer we get to the Games.
Will it or anything else keep you from going to Rio?
Absolutely not. No way.
As the first American to wear a hijab in the Games, how do you use that platform to spread a message of tolerance?
I think even just qualifying and being the first Muslim woman to compete for the United States in hijab provides an image on the world stage to show that Muslim women, our hijab doesn’t hinder us in any way from accomplishing something even within the sports field. For me it’s been a really positive experience in hopefully creating some level of tolerance.
In light of some public figures’ inflammatory statements regarding Muslims recently, what sort of message do you have for those who adhere to anti-Muslim rhetoric?
Day in and day out I think the rhetoric that we’re seeing in today’s society has created a sense of normalcy for bigotry and hate, and as a Muslim woman I have tons of negative experiences that have happened to me, especially over the course of the past few months. I think it’s important that people know that their words affect Muslim women, affect Muslims. We should feel comfortable living our day-to-day lives and we shouldn’t have to feel fear walking down the street, and unfortunately that’s not the case.
How did you get your start in fencing?
My parents were in search of a sport for me to play where I didn’t have to change the uniform at all. When I played volleyball or when I ran track and my teammates wore tank tops or shorts, I always had to wear long sleeves or long pants and also a hijab. So when my mom saw these fencers, she wasn’t familiar with the sport but we knew that they had long pants and long jackets and they wore these masks. So that was the decision my family made to get me involved in the sport. It’s really just been a godsend for me. I always tell people I didn’t find fencing, fencing found me, because it’s just been uniquely accommodating for me and my religious beliefs.
What is your goal heading into the Olympics?
My goal has always been to qualify for the Games. That human side of me set a goal for myself, and I feel very blessed and fortunate to accomplish it, but that competitor in me wants to bring home a medal. I’m just keeping my head down and working hard, and whatever happens, happens, and I’ll be happy either way.
What has been your biggest mental challenge in the run-up to the games?
Our qualifiers for fencing started last April, so we have had a full year of qualification. I knew back then my plan was to be positive no matter what happened, train hard and always remind myself that if I put in the hard work, the results will come. So I’m always feeding myself positive energy and visualizing myself doing well, so that has always worked for me the past 365 days, and I hope to continue to use that training method to do well this summer.
MAGGIE STEFFENS
Age: 22
Sport: Water polo
Get to know her because: She helped the U.S. win its first water polo gold medal in 2012 in London; the Americans also finished first in their 2016 qualifying tournament in March.
What are your concerns regarding the Zika virus?
Something we really talk about is worrying about the things you can control and not stressing the things that are out of your control, and obviously the Zika virus is out of our control. At the end of the day our job as athletes is to play the game and to represent the USA to the best of our ability. I try to focus on that and not let that be a huge distraction and let the USOC administrative part worry about that and us worry about our job and the thing that we can control.
This being your second Olympics, what’s different this time around?
Just my perspective and my experience. Last time around I was just the little pup, and what’s really cool is that although I’ve been an Olympian before, being an Olympian is still my dream. No matter if you’ve done it once or twice or three times or zero times, it’s your dream, and now that I’ve had that experience, it just adds to that dream that I’m trying to accomplish and trying to accomplish with a new group of incredible women. I would say the main difference is we have a new team, a new group, and I’m really excited to share that experience with them.
How can water polo take the next step in terms of reaching more fans?
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That’s an issue but also an opportunity that’s really amazing for us. I was thinking back to when I was a kid and I wanted to be a soccer player. I remember the ’99 games [when the U.S. won the World Cup] and looking at that, and that was kind of their breakout moment for women’s soccer. … I kind of hope that with every little thing USA Water Polo does or every event or every opportunity that a national team player or a college player can reach out to a kid and help create those connections so we can kind of have that 1999 women’s soccer World Cup moment where all of a sudden we have this group of followers that aspire to be water polo players. … I think that the more we can put ourselves out there and get kids to just try it, they’ll fall in love. You think of water polo and there are women of all different shapes and sizes who are Olympians, and I think that’s really cool, and I think that’s a cool message to share with kids.
Why has the U.S. been able to make huge strides in the sport lately?
I think USA Water Polo has had a lot of success because of our work ethic and our drive. I think that stems from our alumni, the women that came before us. We weren’t an Olympic sport until 2000, and it took those women who were in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s on the national team to push, push, push, and they had this philosophy of we’ve got to do whatever we can to achieve this dream, to make this happen for women in the future. That kind of made a foundation for our program where we have that same mentality of you’ve gotta work hard to get what you want and you’ve got to work together and you’ve got to do it for a purpose and one goal, and that’s kind of where we’ve taken our sport and our team with that philosophy.