#WUAlmaty2017: Who runs the World? Girls from Iran!

ALMATY – The Islamic Republic of Iran is represented by three athletes at the 28th Winter Universiade. All of them are alpine skiers. And all of them are women!

One of the representatives is Forough Abbasi, who became the second women of Iran to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. “That was a first time I was at an international race,” admits the student of Shahid Beheshti University and adds that she’s trying to get to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. “I hope I can be there.”

The 23 year old athlete explains the biggest problem of skiing in Iran is the fact there is hardly any snow and they are not used to cold weather conditions. “That’s why we are so far from the first runner,” says the young athlete, who ended up on the 40th place in Giant Slalom.

Forough says that there is nothing that could stop women from practicing sport in Iran as many people would think. They are allowed to train with boys and their coaches are men too.

Learn more about Iranian women power in our video!

Lucie Hrdlickova, U-Media Reporter