Who are Dalilah Muhammad's parents? Track and field star’s mom once forbade her from hurdling
The US women’s team bagged gold in the 4x400m relay final on Saturday, August 7, in the Tokyo Olympics. The winning team finished the race in 3 minutes and 16.85 seconds, while silver was grabbed by Poland that completed the race in 3 minutes and 20.53 seconds. Jamaica took bronze home after finishing in 3 minutes and 21.24 seconds.
The team that helped the US take gold home consisted of four top athletes, naming Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu, and Allyson Felix. It was also a special event for Felix since it is the final Olympic Games of her career. While there is a lot of public information available about the winning team members, especially Felix and her accomplishments, not much is known about Dalilah Muhammad's private life. Let’s take a look at it.
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Who are Dalilah Muhammad's parents?
Dalilah is a 31-year-old track and field athlete, who specializes in the 400m. Apart from helping her team get a gold medal in the 4x400m relay, she also won the silver in the 400m hurdles in Tokyo. However, in the 2016 Rio Olympics, she bagged gold in the finals after running the fastest time in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Dalilah’s parents are Nadirah and Askia Muhammad, who are her biggest supporters. In one of her interviews, she said, “My parents, they were like, ‘You know what? We’re gonna give you this year, we’ll pay all your bills.’ So, I’m thankful for that because without it, it could have been a different story.” Her father is an imam while her mother works as a child protective specialist. Askia once told a media outlet, “A lot of people don’t realize how much work that goes into producing an Olympic athlete.” Five years ago, when they went to cheer for their daughter, the proud father added: “I can't really describe the emotions because we have never felt these emotions before. But yet at the same token, I have always felt that my daughter had the ability.”
Besides her parents, Dalilah also has two older siblings -- a brother and a sister. Her brother Hassan is a sergeant in the Army and her sister Jamillah is a teacher. Talking about the childhood days of the Hall of Famer at Cardozo High School in Bayside, Jamillah said, “She would start here and then run into her room and then do like a backwards jump over the broom and onto the bed.” According to reports, Dalilah’s high jumps were first noticed by the head of the NY Novas running club when she was four. Three years later, she became a member of the club despite her mother’s disapproval. “I said to the coach, 'My baby cannot be in these hurdles. She is going to hurt herself,'” Nadirah recalled.
Meanwhile, Dalilah’s coach George Taylor said that initially, she was not performing well. He stated, “She didn't start off too well. She wasn't one of our best hurdlers. She actually had a really bad fall and didn't probably hurdle again until about fourth grade.” He added that Dalilah’s mom, who was very upset, had “actually said she was never going to hurdle again.” But Dalilah’s faith in herself and Taylor’s guidance helped her achieve her dreams. Her parents also believed that their child’s Islamic faith, discipline, and talent have helped her reach the sky.