GW ALUMNUS GOES FOR THE GOLD!

This June, GW alumnus Aquil Abdullah became the first African-American in history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic rowing team. He follows two other rowers in GW history to the Summer Games; Michelle Knox-Zaloom competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and Tina Brown raced in the 1992 Games.

Aquil Abdullah is used to making choices. He attended Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., and played as wide receiver on his high school football team. He was offered football scholarships to play in college, but had started rowing in his senior year and chose to pursue crew instead. The George Washington University offered him a scholarship to row, and Abdullah accepted.

Abdullah is one of the most decorated rowers in GW history. He captured the single sculls title in 1996 and became the first African-American male to earn a national title. He was favored to make the 2000 Olympics, but his chronic asthma flared up and made him unable to perform to his best ability. Although this was undoubtedly disappointing, Abdullah made the choice to train strenuously, and he went on to place fifth in 2001 and eleventh in 2002 in the World Championships.

While the choices to train hard and to succeed have been made consciously by Abdullah, other issues have not been left up to him. Born to a Muslim father, Abdullah has suffered prejudice in airports since the September 11, 2001, attacks. In 2002, he was detained on his way to an international regatta, and in 2003 he missed his flight because his name came up on the no-fly list. By the time the police officers finished conducting their check, Abdullah’s flight was gone. Abdullah has remained undaunted by these experiences and will compete for the Gold Medal in Athens this August.