When Iran’s national anthem played
at this year’s World Rowing Under 23
Championships, people took notice. The
anthem had never been heard before at a
World Rowing event. Winner of the men’s
lightweight single, Moshen Shadi
Naghadeh was the cause.
used talent identification,” says Ahadpour. “At first
we just had a few rowing boats and about three
ergometers. They started to find tall young girls
and boys from schools and invite them to Tehran.”
Last year, single sculler Homa Hosseini became
the first woman to represent Iran in rowing at the
Olympics. Rowing in a headscarf and sleeveless
apron over a long sleeved tee-shirt, people took
notice of Hosseini.
The programme scouted for youths under the
age of 18 requiring the girls to be a minimum of
175cm and the boys over 185cm tall. The focus
was on lightweight rowers.
Rowing in Iran has arrived.
In 2007 Iran took its first major steps towards the
establishment of rowing. They hired Romanian
coach Nick Gioga and former Romanian national
team member Monica Stan to head the Iranian
team. The rowing push began with a talent
identification programme.
With the impetus coming from Iran’s rowing
federation president Mr. Donyamali and the
support of Tehran’s mayor Seyyed Mohammad
Ayazi, a national training centre was established in
Iran’s capital city. Using a lake that has existed since
the 1970s at the Azadi Sports Training Complex,
a rowing base was established. The training lake,
which is just 1300m long, backs onto the famous
Azadi football stadium. Football is Iran’s biggest
sport and the stadium seats 100,000 people.
Hengameh Ahadpour, who worked for the Iranian
Canoe and Rowing Federation, was part of the early
identification programme. “Rowing came to Iran
about four years ago and right from the start we
Ahadpour estimates about 300 people now row
in the country, spread around three different cities
with the national training centre in Tehran. “The
national team travels to different cities as the lake
is small so they don’t stay for a long time in Tehran.
The best place to row, says Ahadpour, is in >
Homa Hosseini of Iran, the first
Iranian woman to compete in
rowing at the Olympic Games,
pictured before the start of her
heat in the Women’s Single Sculls
at the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing, China.
