High Hopes of Iranian Women Rowers (for Beijing Olympics)

From the Fars News Agency - August 2, 2008

High Hopes of Iranian Women Rowers

TEHRAN (FNA)- Not many Tehran cabbies could find their way there, but hidden close to the centre of the Iranian capital is a six-lane, 1,000m rowing course.

The lake was dug for the 1974 Asian Games. Behind the finish is the 100,000 seat Azadi stadium. In the background, the magnificent Alborz mountains that form Tehran's northern boundary.

It has taken a while for Iran to take to the sport of Oxford and Cambridge, Henley and Pimm's.

But two years ago, they finally took the plunge.

A group of 300 young women was brought to this course from across the country to test their suitability for the sport. There was a similar program for the men as well.

One of the young candidates, Homa Hosseini, graduated from the class and now, two short years later, she is travelling to take part in the Beijing Olympics.

If the approach sounds eastern European, it is.

The current women's coach comes from one of the great nations of women's rowing, Romania. Another coach is half-Russian.

We are not short of anything, and in fact sometimes women get better support than men because of the sensitivity of the issue, Homa Hosseini told BBC.

As the rowers begin to arrive at six in the morning, it is already 28C. Soon the temperature will be up in the high 30s (over 100F).

Asked if her Islamic dressing troubles her, Hosseini said, "Yes, our clothes are warm. But since we began to work with such clothing we got used to it.

"Personally I do not have any problem with that and I don't think it is stopping me from making progress."

Asked if men and women athletes are treated fairly and if she feels restricted because of being a woman in an Islamic country, Homa said, "The facilities we are using are the same as the men and we get a very strong support from our federation."

"So we are not short of anything, and in fact sometimes women get better support than men because of the sensitivity of the issue."

Over the last two years that support has included four foreign coaches. The boats are Chinese.

The blades look like they are from a top American manufacturer.

In the gym, there is a small fleet of rowing machines.

"In the two years that I have been a member of the Iranian rowing team, I have only had two months holiday. We train six hours a day. It takes all of our time," says Hosseini.

She knows that she is not in the medal hunt this time round. But Iranians love their sport and are proud of their Olympic achievements.

But, the delegation of Iranian athletes going to Beijing Olympic games includes more women.

One of Iran's leading competitors in Beijing is in the - distinctly unladylike - sport of Taekwondo.

Some women complain that Iranian women's sports only get a third of government sports funding and that Iranian men still do not take women's sports seriously.

But then again, you might well hear the same story in Britain or the United States.

Wrestling is Iranians' specialty. Not to the mention the proud achievements of the football team, one of the few sides from the Middle East to qualify for the World Cup finals in recent years.

Every Friday, on their day of rest, Iranians of all ages clamber up the Alborz mountains in their thousands. It is a tough climb but women are up there in equal numbers with the men.

It is all very different from the Arab world. Few if any Jordanians, for example, would ever be seen walking in Jordan's fine national parks.

But Iran has a very different ethos, a dynamic attitude to sport and perhaps to life. Iranians love getting out there and proving the rest of the world wrong.

So, sporting world, watch out. The Iranians are coming.