Jamilah, Zaynah, and Latifah McBryde are Muslim sisters who transformed women's wrestling by developing full-body uniforms that comply with their faith. Initially homeschooled, they began wrestling among themselves in Buffalo, NY, and their talent was soon recognized. Their persistence led to new rules permitting Muslim women to compete in modified uniforms. Despite facing challenges, including a denial from United World Wrestling for Latifah to compete with her uniform, college coaches showed interest in recruiting the sisters, highlighting the evolving landscape of women's wrestling.
The sisters based their initial uniforms off those developed for Iranian women wrestlers: a long-sleeved shirt with another shirt over it, and leggings underneath pants, along with a head covering.
In 2022, when Latifah, 20, qualified to represent the U.S. at the Pan American Championships for Wrestling, United World Wrestling (UWW) denied her request to wear the modified uniform.
The more we trained and, like, started to try to compete, it was like, these hijabs aren't staying on.
Coaches recognized their talent when they were teenagers, but they couldn't wrestle with boys, nor could they wear the required wrestling singlet due to their faith.
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