As Elnaz Rekabi, the star Iranian climber, approached the wall on the final day of the tournament Sunday, few in the audience batted an eyelid, their faint claps drowned out by blaring pop music as she began her ascent.
But the significance of this moment at the Asian Championships climbing competition in Seoul, South Korea, would not have been lost on Rekabi herself.
Rekabi, who last year became the first Iranian woman to win a medal, a bronze, at the sport climbing world championships, took to the wall without a hijab — defying the strict dress code that the Iranian government enforces for women, including its female athletes abroad. Anger over those rules and their enforcement has helped fuel the recent protests in Iran.
As video of her climb circulated on social media, so did concern about her fate on her return to Tehran, Iran, with some reports saying she was missing for at least a day.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing, the body that organizes the annual competition, said in a statement Tuesday that it had been in contact with Rekabi and that it was still “trying to establish the facts” around the case. It declined to provide details when asked by The New York Times.
Rekabi flew back to Iran on Tuesday with the rest of the team, according to Iranian and South Korean officials. The Iranian Embassy in Seoul confirmed in a statement that Rekabi and her teammates had departed for Iran. It did not respond to an additional request for comment. Rekabi’s departure was also confirmed in a statement by South Korea’s foreign ministry.