(Abali) In a white anorak, white and black helmet and multicolored ski mask, Atefeh Ahmadi, the only Iranian skier qualified for the Winter Olympics, ends her training day in her native village of Abali at the foot of the mountain, east of Tehran.
Posted at 12:34 p.m.
Skier and Iranian? When, in competition, she explains defending the colors of Iran, her competitors look at her in disbelief.
This makes Atefeh Ahmadi laugh. “They ask me if we have snow in Iran. They think we are a desert country like Saudi Arabia. Whereas even in summer one can practice this sport in Damavand or Alamkouh, glaciers of 5600 m of altitude”.
There are even several ski resorts in Iran, including four, near Tehran, which are very popular in winter. The slopes are mixed and many ski with the family during the weekend.
“They are equally amazed to learn that women are skiing in an Islamic country. I tell them that religion does not prevent women from playing sports,” she adds. Instead of the chador, which obviously makes skiing impossible, women prefer a scarf or even a protective helmet.
Aged 21, she was born on skis, learning to slide before she even walked. “Normal, my father Hassan was a member of the national team and coach of the women’s team,” she told AFP with a smile.
“I started skiing when I was 3 years old. I was so small that I didn’t understand what these pieces of wood were for,” says Atefeh.
If her father trained her on the first track in Iran, opened in her village in 1954, it was Hadis, her sister four years older than her, who passed on the passion to her.
“When she started her first competitions, I cried, because I wanted to follow her,” says the Iranian, who will be accompanied to Beijing by two Iranians (alpine skiing and cross-country skiing).
“Follow My Sister”
When he returned from the 2012 Youth Olympics in Austria, Hadis, who was 15, brought him souvenirs including the five rings from the Olympics.
“That’s when I started dreaming of the Olympics. I remember that, still a child, behind my homework notebook, I clumsily drew the five Olympic rings and I persuaded myself that one day I would take part in them”.
At 10, she made her first trip abroad, to Kazakhstan. Five years later, at 16, she joined the national team.
“When I started at the World Championships in Saint-Moritz in Switzerland, I understood that I had to fight to compete with the best. They had the financial means, I only had my will,” she says.
She is experiencing her first big disappointment as the 2018 Olympics in South Korea approach. “I was 17 and I wanted to write history, to be the youngest Iranian skier to go to the Olympics”.
But the federation considers her too young.
“I was devastated, I cried for two weeks. I wanted to give up skiing. Two months later, I lifted my head and resumed training. I wanted to prove what I was capable of despite my age.
Since then, she has participated in two World Championships with two 46are up for grabs (slalom in 2019 and giant slalom in 2021).
Unknown in the world, people nevertheless flock to her on Abali’s trail to immortalize the meeting.
“I was born in a traditional city where there are not many professional female athletes. A girl from our region who reaches the biggest sports arena in the world can be a role model for other women. »
“Today, my motivation remains intact. The first person who inspired me was my father, who tried to play competitive sport during his youth, but was forced to give it up due to lack of financial means”.
“I want to complete his unfinished journey,” she explains.