Olympic women’s marathon runner Sifan Hassan has received worldwide praise for claiming her gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic closing ceremony whilst wearing a hijab following France’s ban on their own athletes wearing the religious garment.
As the marathon events are the last event on the athletics schedule, they get special treatment at the closing ceremony with the winners collecting their medals in a victory ceremony. But this year, it was the women’s marathon rather than the men’s to act as a reminder of the Women’s March on Versailles in 1789.
The winner of the women’s marathon was Dutch athlete 31-year-old Sifan Hassan. Hassan broke the Olympic record in the women’s marathon by running 42km in 2:22:55. She also became the first woman in history to claim the Olympic gold in the 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon in two Games.
At the Closing Ceremony, Sifan was joined on the podium by Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa who claimed silver, and Hellen Obiri who won bronze. But as she stepped onto the podium, Sifan was wearing a hijab. It’s a move many believe is a statement against the host country, which banned female athletes from wearing the hijab whilst competing in the Olympic Games in September last year.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) women are free to observe the hijab. However, as French athletes are thought to be civil servants, they must follow the national rules.
“This means that they must respect the principles of secularism (laïcité) and neutrality, which, according to French law, means prohibition from wearing outwardly religious symbols, including the hijab, veil and headscarf when they are acting in their official capacity and on official occasions as members of the French national team,” the IOC told Time magazine.
On social media, viewers of the closing ceremony have praised Hassan for her statement.
As a hijabi woman, Hassan’s decision to wear the hijab at the ceremony was not necessarily a political statement. However, it really does draw the spotlight to France’s controversial decision.
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