'Random' gut feeling changed Aussie Olympian Tina Rahimi's life forever

Though she made history by becoming the first female Muslim and hijabi boxer to represent Australia at the Olympics, you may be surprised to know that Tina Rahimi's relationship with her faith wasn't always so strong. 

Rahimi, now 29, and her sisters were born into Islam, but weren't very aware of its role in their lives until they saw other girls at their Muslim majority school practising it, especially during Ramadan and Eid. 

She started practising religion out of obligation, but as Rahimi grew and became exposed to other Muslims when she enrolled in courses and forged her own path after high school, so did her faith. 

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"I've always really been fascinated by our religion," she told nine.com.au, sharing that seeing others taking the time to pray in between classes and attend Islamic lectures piqued her interest enough to start doing the same.

"I feel like it kind of softened my heart, and I started to really love the religion," she said, adding that she began to educate herself and do her own research. 

One day, as Rahimi was heading to attend Friday prayer with her friend, a thought struck her.

Then just 18 years old, she turned to her friend and said,  "I think I want to put the hijab on." 

For a Muslim woman, wearing the hijab is one of the biggest commitments to make in Islam. Wearing it creates a sense of contentment and security within that faith, and makes one's religion very visible – for better or for worse. 

But for Rahimi, it was simply a "random decision".

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"I feel like, with the hijab, you're never going to feel like you're ready… [But] I was like, 'You know what, I think I'm ready… what do I have to lose?'"

"I just remember feeling so happy," she recalled of first putting on the hijab, "[it] just gave me this sense of security.

"When I put the hijab on… it was just about who you are as a person," she remarked, "it wasn't about any special treatment because of how you look or anything like that. [It provides] a layer of respect." 

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In the 12 years since, she has found wearing the hijab helps her "to stay grounded, to stay disciplined, and to really represent myself as a Muslim woman."

Now she does so on a world stage, with the boxer being one of the most prominent Muslim athletes to represent Australia at the Pacific Games, Commonwealth Games, and most recently, the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

All of these matches mean a lot of travelling, with Rahimi finding herself on many occasions having to fast for Ramadan while also training for matches in the world's biggest sporting tournaments.  

But to her surprise, she found that she was not alone. Her teammates – who had watched her wake up and train before for suhoor – the pre-dawn meal, and abstain from food and water while training the entire day before breaking fast at sunset all alone – decided to show their support in the most touching way possible.   

"A few of my friends were like, 'Well, why don't we speak to her and see if we can fast a day with her?'" she recalled. 

"They fasted a day with me, sat down with me for iftaar together," she recalled fondly, with her teammates often saying to her, "We don't know how you do it!"  

"We actually started to do that every single year because we were traveling together. It was really nice… I had a lot of support from them." 

They presumably learned the same thing Rahimi did when she first began opening up to the religion and practicing fasting during Ramadan, something that she know knows quite well – the significance of the month of Ramadan.

"Ramadan, for me, is about discipline and getting closer to God – learning about your religion, why we fast, giving charity – just doing everything that you can to get closer to God."

She spends the month, "getting out of those bad habits that you might have had prior to Ramadan. I feel like it's a month for cleansing yourself and becoming a better person. So to me, I feel like it's really, really important that we take this month to really cleanse ourselves and hopefully continue it past Ramadan. 

"It's a beautiful month, and honestly, it's the time that you feel the most holiest." 

This Ramadan and Eid will look entirely different for the athlete, who has just gotten married and performed the holy pilgrimage of Umrah in Mecca (also known as the lesser pilgrimage compared to Hajj, which is one of the pillars of Islam) with her husband.

"I really want to take that time, prior to Ramadan to really spiritually prepare myself… I want to make the most of it."

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