Runner disqualified for wearing hijab

A US high school runner says she was disqualified from a cross country event in the state of Ohio because her coach didn’t have a waiver allowing her to wear a hijab. The association that oversees high school sports in the state said on Thursday that it’s considering changing its rules after the disqualification.

Noor Abukaram said she felt humiliated after being ruled out last weekend following a race in which she posted her best time for the season. “My heart dropped, I felt like something horrible had happened,” she told WTOL-TV.

“I think I was mostly embarrassed.” Her coach at Sylvania Northview High School told The Blade newspaper he made a mistake by not getting the waiver, but he didn’t think it was needed because no one had raised the issue at her previous 10 races this year.

Ms Abukaram, 16, said she was not upset with her coach, only the rule. US Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed her solidarity with the excluded runner. “I’ve got your back, Noor,” she said on Twitter.