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French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla will be allowed to wear a cap covering her hair during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, an agreement reached with the French Olympic Committee after Sylla said she had been disqualified because of her hijab.
During the opening ceremony on Friday, which will include a parade of athletes on the River Seine, the French delegation will wear custom-made uniforms by French luxury brand Berluti, which is owned by the LVMH Group.
“In consultation with the French Athletics Federation, the French Ministry of Sports, Paris 2024 and Berluti, discussions were held with Sounkamba Sylla,” the French Olympic Committee said in a statement on Thursday. “She was offered the opportunity to wear a cap during the parade, which she accepted.”
But Sylla, who represents France in the women’s and mixed relays, posted a message on her Instagram account to announce that an arrangement has been reached.
“We finally reached an agreement so that I could participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games,” said Sylla, 26. “I want to thank you very much for your mobilization and support from the beginning.”
A similar solution was found earlier this year at the European Championships in Rome. Sylla, who had previously competed in several events wearing a black headscarf, was asked to compete in a blue cap with a sewn-on strip of cloth to cover her hair.
Andre De Grasse and Maude Charron have been chosen to lead Team Canada as flag bearers at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony. The Opening Ceremony begins on CBC Gem at 1:00 p.m. ET on July 26 and will be presented in American Sign Language (ASL) provided by Signapse, a generative AI sign language software company.
