Iranian climbers keen on Paris heights despite World Cup boycott
Three Iranians will be looking to secure a sport climbing quota in next summer’s Paris Olympics despite the boycott of the World Cup in the United States hampering their preparations for the qualifiers.
“Iranian athletes missed out on the world events in the United States over the past two years after being denied entry visas by the Americans,” Reza Zarei, the head of the sport’s governing body in the country, said last week, adding: “That is why we decided not a apply for next year’s World Cup as I believe it will a waste of time and money.”
The three-day IFSC Climbing World Cup will kick off in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 3.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) recently announced the list of eligible athletes for the Olympic qualification series.
Iranian speed duo Reza Alipour and Mahya Darabian as well as women’s boulder & lead climber Elnaz Rekabi have been given the green light to take a shot at a place in Paris, starting with the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, China, on May 16.
The trio will then head to Budapest, Hungary, for the second series of the qualifiers from June 20-23.
A former world record holder in the men’s speed, for which he was nicknamed ‘The Persian Cheetah’ and the ‘Usain Bolt of climbing’, Alipour bagged a second Asian Games gold in October, with the Olympic glory remaining the only prize missing in his already illustrious trophy cabinet – featuring a gold (2018), silver (2016), and bronze (2014) at the World Championships, plus the ultimate prize of the 2017 World Games and six top-spot finishes in the IFSC World Cup.
His latest triumph came in mid-December’s IFSC Asian Cup in Riyadh, where he clocked 5.33 seconds in the final to stand on the top podium.
Rekabi, meanwhile, is eager to prove there is more to her career than the off-the-wall controversy in last year’s Asian Championships in Seoul – regarding her hijab removal in the boulder & lead final.
The Iranian girl was unlucky to leave the Hangzhou Asian Games empty-handed after the final showdown was called off due to severe weather conditions but managed to claim the Asian Cup boulder bronze in the Saudi capital, while finishing fifth in the lead final.
For Darabian, an Olympic berth in August might be a daunting task, given her mediocre results in international outings over the past couple of years, but the 21-year-old girl will still be looking to build on her promising age-group performances – which saw her win an Asian youth gold in 2019 before grabbing the world junior bronze two years later – when chasing a surprise spot in the Iranian delegation heading to the French capital.