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With growth mindset, Dalilah Muhammad keeps striving for greatness

Muhammad, a two-time Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, has many more hurdles to climb. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

In 2019, American hurdler Dalilah Muhammad shattered the world record in the 400m hurdles, not once but twice.

To break records of such a high caliber requires unrelenting competitiveness — especially in such a grueling event that entails clearing 10 hurdles. But when Muhammad isn’t bolting around a track, she considers herself to be pretty “chill.”

“A lot of times people see you on the track, and they think you’re this super competitive person,” she told Just Women’s Sports.

“But honestly, I think off the track, that would be the most surprising thing about me. I’m not the type of person that has to win at bowling or has to win at board games.”

There’s a time and a place for Muhammad’s competitiveness, like last summer when the defending champion in the 400m hurdles was gearing up for her second consecutive Olympic Games.

The then 31-year-old won gold in the event at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and was set for an epic showdown in Tokyo to defend her title. In the end, Muhammad finished the race in second place to teammate Sydney McLaughlin.

Not many knew the challenges Muhammad faced leading up to that blistering race, where she clocked 51.58, her fastest time ever, to win silver. She had nicked her hamstring twice, causing her to develop a slight limp, and dealt with two separate bouts of COVID-19, each time leaving her with severe symptoms that derailed her ability to train.

Muhammad achieved greatness despite such adversity. The key, she said, was a switch in her mental approach.

“I think for me, it was me telling myself to just have fun and try and see what happens,” she said. “I think just having that little flip in mindset really enabled me to push through and to see where I could take it.”

A native of Queens, New York, Muhammad began her track and field career at 7 years old. After seeing the youngster bounding down the city streets, a neighborhood track coach urged Muhammad’s mother, ​​Nadirah, to have her join his club team.

Opportunities for aspiring runners like Muhammad were plentiful within the borough, where there were multiple teams she could join and many local tracks available. “I can think of three tracks that are literally within a mile radius of where my actual apartment was,” she said.

Early on, Muhammad says she dipped her toe into as many sports as possible, including basketball, tennis, dance and swimming. But it was track and field that she loved the most.

“I definitely was the best at track and field,” she recalled of her younger self. “And I just felt like I had a gift, and I wanted to pursue that gift.”

Although she felt a unique magnetism toward the hurdles, Muhammad was encouraged by her coach to give many events a try — race walk, long jump, high jump, and even shot put and cross country.

“I always loved the hurdles. I always gravitated towards them,” she said. “I remember wanting to really nail the technique and really wanting to be good at it.”

It was no surprise when her love for hurdling blossomed in high school. With a solid endurance base, Muhammad was poised to excel in the 400m hurdles, an event only high-school level athletes in New York state could enter.

“I was one of those kids that couldn’t wait for the 400m hurdles,” she said. “I had enough speed, but I also had the distance background that a lot of 400m hurdles need.”

At Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, located in Bayside, a neighborhood of Queens, Muhammad says she began to push her limits and, in turn, took her athletic pursuits more seriously. In 2007, she won the IAAF World Youth title in the Czech Republic and was named New York State’s Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. The following season, as a senior, she captured gold in both the New York State Championships and the Nike Outdoor Nationals.

During those teenage years, Muhammad realized her dream of earning a collegiate track and field scholarship was within reach. Several universities — including Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida State, South Carolina and USC — were chomping at the bit when Muhammad became eligible for recruitment. Eventually, she traded the East Coast for the West to attend USC.

“I thought that USC would have a nice balance of a good academic program and athletic program. That was really what sold it for me,” she said. “And you can’t beat the California weather.”

As a Trojan, Muhammad majored in business and became one of the leading 400m hurdlers in the nation. She earned All-American honors twice in the event and still ranks among the top 10 USC performers of all time.

In 2013, a year after graduating from USC, Muhammad was itching to make her first-ever World Championship team. After falling short in the preliminary round at the 2012 Olympic Trials, she was determined to make a comeback.

During that process, she developed a way to center herself while still taking everything in stride. It became just one word — her “power word.”

“I remember setting a goal and deciding, OK, the goal is to make this team, and let’s just find a word that puts it all into one line,” Muhammad said.

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At her first Olympics in Rio in 2016, Muhammad won gold in the 400m hurdles. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

Rather than letting the pressure of reaching the world-class stage consume her, Muhammad repeated her power word again and again. Almost like a mini mantra, it began to work.

The performances that followed boosted her track profile and eventually led her to sign an endorsement deal with Nike. At the 2013 USA Outdoor Championships, she won her first national title in a new personal best to clinch her spot on the U.S. team. Unfazed by the global competition, Muhammad then blazed down the home straightaway at the World Championships in Moscow to earn a silver medal in the 400m hurdles.

Fast forward to this outdoor season. Muhammad, now 32, is dominating the elite hurdling scene. Just last month, at the Diamond League event in Birmingham, she comfortably cleared the final hurdle in first place with a time of 54.54. While she sat out of the USA Outdoor Championships this past weekend with a hamstring injury — where reigning Olympic gold medalist McLaughlin won in world-record time — Muhammad is set to compete in the 400m at worlds next month after receiving a bye as the defending champion.

“I think this has been one of my best seasons I’ve been having so far, in terms of how I’ve been practicing, and I’m a lot stronger,” Muhammad said.

Coached by Lawrence “Boogie” Johnson at the Athletic Performance Ranch in Forth Worth, Texas, Muhammad has been training with a new stacked roster of 16 women and men.

“They just bring so much life to training every single day, and having younger people to train with definitely keeps you motivated,” Muhammad said.

The group works out during the early mornings from Monday through Friday, and sometimes Saturday to beat the southern heat. At this point in the season, Muhammad says practices last about three hours — compared to the typical five — followed by a short break and then a weightlifting session in the gym.

“It’s that nice balance of being super proud of the people that you train with, and having them to push you, too,” she said.

While Muhammad shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon, her future as a pro athlete has inevitably been on her mind. “I think it starts to play in your head — your age, and what the world is telling you,” she said.

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Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin, teammates and friends, are also each other's fiercest competitor. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Now more than ever, athletes are pushing the limits of longevity to achieve peak performance past age 40. Muhammad looks up to 40-year-old tennis star Serena Williams, in particular.

“She, to me, is a huge figure of someone that really represented it,” Muhammad said. “She made it possible that you can have a really long career in sports.”

For the first time in history, the World Athletics Championships will take place on American soil at the magnificently renovated Hayward Field beginning July 15. The women’s 400m hurdles will be a headlining event in Eugene.

As of the end of May, Muhammad is ranked third in the world.

“I always felt joy the other years, but this year for me it’s even more so than the rest. I look forward to really racing and just kind of seeing what happens,” Muhammad said.

“My goal is definitely to bring home that win again and to defend that title. I’d like to break the record, too.”

Brenley Goertzen is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @BrenleyGoertzen.

WNBA, Players Union Spar Over CBA Negotiations at All-Star Weekend

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to media at a 2025 press conference.
The current CBA between the WNBPA and the league expires at the end of October. (Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images)

This year's All-Star action extends beyond the court, as more than 40 players — including All-Stars, executive committee members, and WNBPA representatives — met with the WNBA in Indianapolis on Thursday for the second CBA negotiations of 2025.

"I'm encouraged. I'm just so inspired by the amount of players that showed up, the engagement that was there," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said after Thursday's session, which drew the largest turnout in union history.

"It was something that was very informative for me. First time being able to see and hear the wording from both sides," Chicago Sky star Angel Reese added. "I was really eager to know and understand what was going on."

With revenues booming, both players and the league are struggling to settle issues surrounding payouts, revenue sharing, and the salary caps ahead of the current CBA's October 31st expiration date.

"This business is booming — media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales — are all up in historic fashion," the WNBPA wrote in a statement following Thursday's meeting. "But short-changing the working women who make this business possible stalls growth. The only thing more unsustainable than the current system is pretending it can go on forever."

While CBA negotiations continue, the union indicated that players are open to a work stoppage should they fail to reach a new deal by the end of this WNBA season.

Rookies Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen Hit the 2025 WNBA All-Star Court

Washington Mystics rookie All-Stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen chat during a 2025 WNBA game.
Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen will play in their first WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday. (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)

Team Clark has youth on their side this weekend, with Mystics rookie Sonia Citron gearing up to hit Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star court alongside Washington teammate and fellow 2025 draft pick Kiki Iriafen.

"I was not expecting this at all," Citron told WNBA legend Lisa Leslie on Between the Lines last week, referencing her surprise All-Star call-up. "I'm still in shock. I don't really think it's hit me yet."

"We're young, we've got a bunch of shooters, a little bit of everything" she said of Team Clark's lineup.

Saturday's game isn't Citron's only assignment this weekend, with the All-Star debutant also set to compete in Friday's 3-Point Contest.

The Mystics are on the rise this year, exceeding season expectations behind first-year firepower to send three players in Citron, Iriafen, and Washington's scoring leader Brittney Sykes to the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.

Citron is currently averaging five rebounds and 14 points per game — trailing only Sykes's 17 points per game on Washington's stat sheet. Her rookie campaign has her shooting 45% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc.

Fellow first-year Iriafen is also impressing, leading the Mystics with 8.5 rebounds per game as well as sinking nearly 12 points per game while shooting 46% from the field.

"[The rookies] have really played a key piece in our success this season with us being so young, but also them being so adaptable," second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards told Leslie in an earlier episode. "And they're runners for Rookie of the Year, so why not only have one when you can have two? I'm just loving it."

How to attend a live taping of "Between the Lines"

Just Women's Sports is taking over Indianapolis with multi-faceted activations for the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend — including a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.

Featuring interviews with Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), and Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever), the exclusive podcast taping will occur at 110 S Pennsylvania Street at 3 PM ET on Saturday.

Sabrina Ionescu, Allisha Gray Headline WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest

New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu lines up a shot during the 2023 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest.
WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu set the single-round 3-Point Contest record in 2023. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Even with Indiana Fever sharpshooter Caitlin Clark sidelined, Friday's 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge will heat up the Indianapolis competition before Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game tips off.

Single-round record holder Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) and reigning champion Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream) headline the 3-Point Contest, with Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks), Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), and Clark-replacement Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever) rounding out the bill beyond the arc.

Gray will also be on hand to defend her 2024 Skills Challenge title, with Natasha Cloud (New York Liberty), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Erica Wheeler (Seattle Storm), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx) looking to upend the Dream guard.

Players are shooting for more than just bragging rights in the Friday competitions, with Aflac boosting prize money for the second year in a row.

The insurance giant will award $60,000 to the 3-point Contest winner and $55,000 to the Skills Challenge champ, topping off the league's $2,575-per-player All-Star bonus check.

With big money on the line, both Gray and Ionescu are battling to become just the second WNBA player to win multiple 3-Point Contests, following in the footsteps of retired Sky guard and four-time event champion Allie Quigley.

How to watch the All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take the Indianapolis court at 8 PM ET on Friday, with both competitions airing live on ESPN.

Minnesota Lynx-Fueled Team Collier Readies for WNBA All-Star Game

Minnesota Lynx All-Stars Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier celebrate a 2025 WNBA regular-season win.
2025 WNBA All-Star captain Napheesa Collier will play alongside her Lynx teammate, Courtney Williams. (Matt Krohn/Getty Images)

Team Collier is looking locked and loaded for Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, with captain Napheesa Collier heading up a roster stocked with talent from the league-leading Minnesota lineup.

The Lynx star will start the game alongside 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), and rookie phenom Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings).

Team Collier's bench showcases a balanced group of Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury), and Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks).

Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx) will also join the squad, replacing the injured Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), boosting the team's Minnesota contingent to three players.

Adding to the Lynx representatives is Minnesota manager Cheryl Reeve, who will serve as the squad's head coach following a first-of-its-kind draft-day swap between the Collier and fellow All-Star captain Caitlin Clark.

"I'm just glad people are understanding Phee's greatness," Reeve said about Collier before the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend. "There's nothing else you can say at this point."

With a steady front and backcourt presence, Team Collier has experience on their side as they take on a youth-heavy Team Clark on Saturday.

How to watch Team Collier at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.

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