A member of the national track skating team for more than a decade, Mardani received a cup on November 6 in Istanbul during a ceremony in which she was not wearing a veil. The young woman wore a black T-shirt with the word "Iran" in white.In October, sport climbing champion Elnaz Rekabi had entered a competition in Seoul, South Korea, with only a bandana on her head, which was interpreted as a gesture of solidarity with the protests in Iran. The case of Elnaz Rekabi had a wide echo internationally, especially after the young woman retracted her gesture, calling it involuntary, after her early return to Iran and after being received by the officials of the Ministry of Sport.
