(L-R) Gymnast Gabby Douglas, ice hockey player Caitlin Cahow, soccer player Carli Lloyd and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad were named to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition by President Barack Obama.
In his final week in office, President Barack Obama added four Olympic medalists to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Gabby Douglas, Caitlin Cahow, Carli Lloyd and Ibtihaj Muhammad join the council, which is co-chaired by Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Dominique Dawes and NFL quarterback Drew Brees.
Douglas won the gymnastics all-around title at the London 2012 Olympic Games and is a two-time Olympic team gold medalist. A month after her London success, she led the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention, where Obama was nominated to run for his second term. Douglas also has twice shared the spotlight with First Lady Michelle Obama, on “The Tonight Show” in 2012 and again at a 2013 Let’s Move event in Chicago.
Cahow earned two Olympic medals as a member of the U.S. women’s ice hockey team, taking bronze in 2006 and silver in 2010. A Harvard graduate, she also is a three-time world championship medalist, following a silver medal in 2007 with golds in 2008 and 2009. She was a member of the Presidential Delegation to the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, and first joined the fitness, sports and nutrition council in 2014.
A three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic soccer champion, Lloyd led Team USA to the 2015 Women’s World Cup title, earning the FIFA Golden Ball and Silver Boot awards along the way. Her goal against Japan in the gold medal match, coming just 2:34 into the contest, was the fastest goal in World Cup final history. A clutch player, she scored the game winning goal against Brazil in the final of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, then tallied both goals in the 2012 Olympic final against Japan.
Muhammad made history as the first U.S. woman to compete at the Olympic Games wearing a hijab. The team saber bronze medalist in Rio, she also serves on the U.S. State Department’s Empowering Women and Girls Through Sport Initiative. Currently ranked No. 8 in the world, Muhammad was a three-time All-American for Duke University and holds five world championship medals (one gold, four bronzes).
Other Olympians already serving on the council are track and field’s Allyson Felix, figure skater Michelle Kwan, volleyball player Christa Dietzen and basketball’s Grant Hill, Alonzo Mourning and Chris Paul.
