Elham Asghari: "My [open water] 20km record has been held hostage"

Elham Asghari: gave an interview to The Guardian regarding her 20km national open water record
that was rejected by Iranian swim officials simply because of their considerations regarding her body shape.

From The Guardian:

"...On a Tuesday morning in June, Elham Asghari stepped into the tidal waters of the chilly Caspian sea in northern Iran to swim 20km in full Islamic dress. But her record-breaking nine-hour feat has not been recognised by national authorities because she is a woman.

"Although I [stuck to] the full Islamic dress code and had swimming officials present at all times, [the authorities] said no matter how Islamic my swimming gear, it was unacceptable," she told the Guardian. "They said the feminine features of my body were showing as I came out of water. ..."

[Link]

The thing about sports is that they are not suppose to be politically correct. If you followed the rules, wore the right uniform, and committed no violations you're gold despite how you looked doing it.

I have no problems with Islamic dress but how can a society like this prosper when their female population has rules placed upon it that can be interpreted by personal consideration or whim rather than by a set of definitions?

Imagine if an IOC official or officials disqualified Dara Torres because she looked like a 15-year-old boy rather than their own the personal definition of an adult woman as illustrated in a Renoir painting?

Personally I think Dara Torres is amazing and extraordinarily alpha but these hypothetical officials would be disqualifying her on the basis of their own personal bias and opinion rather than by a set of rules.

The SCAQ blog wishes Elham Asghari the best luck and hopes that the Iranian swimming regime she swims under comes to their senses.