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It\u2019s not every day that I get to sit down and talk to an Olympic fencer. And Ibtihaj Muhammad is so much more than her sporting accolades that catapulted her into the spotlight. Being the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab was simply the springboard to everything that she\u2019s done since \u2013 from writing books, to launching a clothing company and being an all-round superhero to a generation of girls.

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After speaking about the importance of role models on a panel talk at the Nike Legacy Summit LA, we continued our conversation with this podcast episode. Full of honesty, eloquence, and sage advice, Ibtihaj talks about sport\u2019s power to unify \u2013 it\u2019s not about where you\u2019re from, how much money you have, your gender, your sexual orientation or your faith. It\u2019s about getting out there, having fun and trying to win.

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Ibtihaj shares her own experiences of being made to feel like a square shape in a round space. She talks about how she abandoned the idea of acceptance and people-pleasing long ago, and instead learned to love herself and be her own biggest cheerleader to get to where she is today.

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There are so many reasons why I love this conversation \u2013 enjoy listening. We\u2019re now off for our festive break, so mad amounts of love to you all. We\u2019ll be back in January 2020.

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You can learn more about Ibtihaj, her projects and order her books here www.ibtihajmuhammad.com

And you can follow Ibtihaj and her clothing company on Instagram @ibtihajmuhammad @louellashop

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As always, you can follow us @gurlstalk and send any messages to\xa0www.gurlstalk.com\xa0Don\u2019t forget to subscribe to never miss an episode of the Gurls Talk podcast.