A female climber from Iran is thought to have been forced to leave her home country following persecution after she competed internationally without covering her hair.
According to the Daily Mail, in an Instagram post the brother of Elnaz Rekabi, Davood, recently wrote: 'I wish this was a better place for you, so that missing you like this would not weigh on our hearts.'
It is reported that Rekabi has moved to Spain.
In October 2022 Elnaz Rekabi made international headlines when she competed in the IFSC (nternational Federation of Sport Climbing) Asian Championships in South Korea without wearing a hijab.
Women in Iran, which includes athletes representing their country overseas, must cover their hair with a headscarf or hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing.
Rekabi became a symbol of the anti-regime protests, which were occurring at the time following the death of Mahsa Amini. Amini died in Iranian police custody after being arrested by religious police for allegedly not wearing the hijab correctly.
A public apology
Following the event in South Korea Rekabi issued an apology on Instagram and insisted her bare-headed appearance had been 'unintentional'.
However, a source later claimed to the BBC that she had been forced to do so.
In December 2022, video footage of Rekabi's family home being demolished was circulated. It showed sports medals on the ground and her brother, who is also a top athlete, crying.
Iran officials said the demolition took place due to the family not having a valid permit for its construction. However, anti-government activists denounced it as an act of revenge against Rekabi.
In June 2023, Elnaz Rekabi appeared in her first climbing tournament post-South Korea at a women's boulder World Cup event in Brixen, Italy.
However, Iranian media reported that the Ministry of Sports and Youth requested the athlete provided a financial guarantee of 10 billion rials ($20,000) and a house deed before traveling abroad again to the World Cup event.
More recently, the International Federation for Sport Climbing had announced that Rekabi has been appointed as the 'athlete role model' for sport climbing in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal in 2026.
Sport climbing was first introduced in the Olympics in Tokyo 2020. It was split into three events: speed, lead and bouldering.
In Paris 2024 the format was changed to create just two separate events: speed climbing and combined bouldering and lead climbing.
