OlymPicks: Iran s Paralympic Winter Athletes Given Cold Shoulder, Japan Turns Down Chinese Vaccine Offer Mar 17, 2021 4:30 pm | 1 comment | 197 reads
In OlymPicks, we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing s 2022 Winter Olympics.
Iranian Paralympic athletes forced to chart their own course
Although Iran officially made its Paralympic Winter Games debut at Nagano in 1998, it wasn’t until the PyeongChang games two decades later that the country sent more than one athlete to compete. Back in the early days, the responsibility of representing the country fell squarely on the shoulders of Para alpine skier Sadegh Kalhor, however, today, the honor is split between three Para snowboarders – Puriya Khaliltash, Hossein Solghani, and Sedigheh Rouzbeh – and two Para cross-country skiers, Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei and Farzaneh Rezasoltani. Unfortunately, in a story akin to
Imagen Puriya Khaliltash competed in border cross and banked slalom in the men’s SB-UL class at PyeongChang 2018 ⒸOIS PhotosBy Lena Smirnova | For the IPC
Winter is a busy season for Puriya Khaliltash.
Not only is the Para snowboarder from the Islamic Republic of Iran training daily to qualify for his second Paralympic Games while balancing a full-time job as a snowboard instructor, he is also helping to design the courses that he trains on.
Khaliltash’s story is just one example of the tenacious spirit shared by three sports enthusiasts who are determined to make Iran’s second appearance in the Para snowboard events at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games even more memorable than the first.