Elham Sadat Asghari ( fa, الهام اصغری; born 1981) is an Iranian swimmer who claimed that she has set an as-yet-unrecognized 20 kilometers swimming record in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

in northern Iran in June 2013.

Early life and background

Elham began swimming at the age of five and started to teach swimming at the age of 17. Asghari's childhood dream was to swim in open waters, and to achieve her goal she looked for training programmes on the internet. Asghari's father worked as a

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

, and encouraged her to register her records. In

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Islamic

Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...

is applied. The

Islamic dress code Islamic clothing is clothing that is interpreted as being in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Muslims wear a wide variety of clothing, which is influenced not only by religious considerations, but also by practical, cultural, social, and ...

imposes that women are required to cover their hair and body regardless of their religion and nationality. Moreover, female athletes in Iran are expected to practice separately from men; for swimmers this means swimming in women-only pools or in their own times. The only competition in which Iranian women swimmers take part are the

Women's Islamic Games The Women's Islamic Games were an international multi-sport event started in 1993. The event was organised by the Islamic Federation of Women's Sport (IFWS). Muslim women of all nationalities were allowed to take part in the Games. The event has ...

, as they cannot go to competitions abroad so they would not be seen by men while wearing swimsuits. To comply to the Sharia, Asghari came up with a special

Hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

swimsuit that covered her body from head to toe, which in water adds 6 kilograms to the swimmer's weight.

Career

In 2008, the Iranian ministry of sports recognized Asghari's 12-kilometer swim for her usage of the full-body swimming outfit.

2010: Accident

Asghari's problems with her performances began in 2010, when she decided to swim around

Kish Island Kish ( fa, کیش ) is a resort island in Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgān Province, off the southern coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf. Owing to its free trade zone status, the island is touted as a consumer's paradise, with numerous malls, ...

in three days, overseen by a representative from the ministry of sports. When Asghari had only swum 5 kilometres, police boats rammed into her and people around. She injured a leg and had her hip was lacerated by boat propellers. The trauma made Asghari decide to stop swimming. However her family and friends encouraged her to return. After undergoing therapy, Asghari began to practice again, swimming 5 kilometres every night and running 12 kilometres daily.

2013

On June 11, 2013, Asghari swam 20 kilometres going back and forth for 8 hours from 5:30 am to 2:30 pm in the

near

Nowshahr Nowshahr ( fa, نوشهر; also Romanized as Now Shahr, Noshahr, and Nau Shahr; also known as Bandar-e Noshahr and the former name was Dehno) is a city and capital of Nowshahr County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. The largest ethnic group in Nowsha ...

. The area was a private, women-only beach to avoid any potential run-ins with police boats. The representative from Iran's sports ministry tried to knock her distance down to 15 kilometres, after Asghari protested they accepted 18 kilometres, only to afterward refusing to approve her record saying that the feminine features of her body were visible when she came out of water. One of the representative of the federation said: "The deputy sports minister told him that her costume wasn't suitable for free water swimming." One of Asghari's friends declared that the swimsuit was the same of the 2008 record. Shahrnaz Vernoos, adviser for women's affairs in the federation, said on a family website: "There was no representative f the federationand it is unclear if she really swam 18 kilometres, female free swimming is contrary to the rules of the ministry of sports and youth, for three years there has been no competition." Reza Habibi, a member of the federation's technical committee, said: "There are no records recognised in free water swimming, what she has done is a personal act without coordinating with the federation and the ministry." He also added that the international federation only acknowledges swims of "5, 10, 15 and 25 kilometres."

Support

Asghari posted a video of herself online with the help of her manager, Farvartish Rezvaniyeh, who decided to help her to publish her plight. When Rezvaniyeh heard about Asghari's case on Facebook he contacted her and made her make the video. Asghari gained the support of thousands of fans on Facebook and tributes poured as more people became aware of the case. In her video Asghari promises that women will not have to wear such dampening swimsuits.

References

Bibliography

Report on Borna NewsReport on MagiranReport on ParsineReport on IsnaReport on Nasim Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asghari, Elham 1981 births Living people Iranian female swimmers Female long-distance swimmers Place of birth missing (living people)