A Saudi Woman’s Historic Judo Match, In Pictures

Wojdan Shaherkhani didn’t win her judo match today against Puerto Rico’s Melissa Mojica.

Shaherkhani almost didn’t compete, because judo’s governing body didn’t want her to wear a hijab. They found a compromise in time.

Image by MIGUEL MEDINA / Getty Images

She became the first Saudi woman ever to compete in an Olympic event. Runner Sarah Attar will compete in the 800 meters for Saudi Arabia next week.

Image by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / Getty Images

Shaherkhani is just 16, and not yet a black belt. Some people worried she wasn’t ready to compete in the Olympics.

Image by Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

Her opponent, Melissa Mojica, 28, is more experienced. She’s ranked 13th in the world.

Image by Mike Groll / AP

Early in the match, Mojica was able to drop Shaherkhani, scoring the judo equivalent of a knockout.

Image by Mike Groll / AP

The whole thing was over in 82 seconds.

Image by TORU HANAI / Reuters

As other fighters had predicted, Shaherkhani’s head covering didn’t seem to cause problems.

Image by Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

Afterwards, Mojica said of her opponent, “I admire her for coming from that country and having the courage to compete. I didn’t feel pity for [her]. I felt a lot of respect.”

Image by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / Getty Images

In a statement after the match, Shaherkhani said, “Hopefully this will be the start of bigger participation for other sports also. Hopefully this is the begin [sic] of a new era.”

Image by Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

She also said, “we did not win a medal, but in the future we will and I will be a star for women’s participation.”

Image by KIM KYUNG-HOON / Reuters