Source:
Iran Times
|
Sara Khoshjamal-Fekri |
Time magazine
says Iran's Sara Khoshjamal-Fekri is a must-see performer at the Olympics as the
first woman ever to appear at the Olympics for Iran.
Only trouble is, she is not the first
Iranian competitor; she's the fourth.
Time this week
published a list of 100 must-see Olympic participants. They put Sara 22nd, way
ahead of Kobe Bryant of basketball fame. He only ranked 33rd.
Sara will be competing in taekwondo, the
Korean martial art.
Time said of her: "The 19-year-old complies
with tradition by training in private at home and by competing in a headscarf.
But she broke with custom when she became the first Iranian woman to qualify for
the Games."
Actually, Iran has sent a number of women
before to the Olympics: Lida Fariman was in the shooting competition in 1996;
Manijeh Kazemi was a shooter in 2000; and Nassim Hassanpour was entered in the
pistol competition in 2004.
At the 2008 Olympics, Sara will be one of
three Iranian women competitors. The others are Najmeh Abtin in shooting and
Homa Hossaini in rowing.
Sara says, "Being a woman never stopped me
from pursuing taekwondo. I was interested in it since childhood when my
brothers took it up. They later quit. My parents supported me,"
Sara says, "My appearance in the Olympics
may encourage other women in Iran and around the world to seek a greater social
role."
About Iran Times:
The Iran Times is an
independent newspaper with no affiliation with any political party or faction
The Iran Times corporation was founded in Washington D.C. in 1970, in accordance
with U.S. federal and local regulations:
www.iran-times.com
... Payvand News - 08/07/08 ...
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