The French sprinter said she will be barred from taking part in Friday night’s opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics because she wears a hijab.
Sunkamba Shira, 26, took to social media last weekend to air her frustration.
“I’ve been selected to compete in the Olympics in my country but I can’t attend the opening ceremony because I’m wearing a headscarf,” she wrote on Instagram, according to the Associated Press.
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Sungkamba Sylla of France competes in the 4x400m relay during the 26th European Athletics Championships Rome 2024 at the Stadio Olimpico on June 11, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Pia Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Sylla is a member of France’s 400m women’s relay and mixed team relay teams. But France has secular laws in place, and French Olympic Committee president David Lappartien said French Olympians are ordered to follow the secular principles that apply to civil servants, including the ban on the hijab.
“It may not be understood in other countries around the world, but here in France it’s part of our DNA,” Lappartien said.
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S’Nkamba Sylla of France hands over the baton to his teammate Alexe Daup during the 4x400m relay during the 26th European Athletics Championships Rome 2024 at Stadio Olimpico on June 11, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Pia Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
He added that talks were underway to find a solution that would allow Shira to take part in the ceremony in a way that “respects her beliefs.”
“I am confident that a solution will be found,” he said. “I hope that everyone will be able to take part in the opening ceremony.”
Shira always wears a hijab while competing.
France’s S’Nkamba Sylla, Camille Seri, Louise Maraval and Amandine Brossier pose for a photograph after the women’s 4x400m relay qualifying round during the 2023 World Athletics Championships at the Budapest National Athletics Centre on August 26, 2023. (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)
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She will run in a black scarf at several events, including the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and the World Relays in May 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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