Iran's first female Olympic skier Marjan Kalhor has said she was pleased with her performance following her debut on the slopes, Press TV reported.
"I am very happy to finish the course, because I am the first woman from Iran to compete at a Winter Olympic Games," Kalhor told reporters after she finished her giant slalom first run at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in one minute 36.87 seconds on Wednesday.
"The course was very difficult and I'm very tired, because it's my first big competition," she added.
The 21-year-old Iranian skier trailed leader Elisabeth Goergl of Austria by 21.75 seconds in the fogbound, snowy course.
Kalhor, wearing a pink head scarf beneath her safety helmet to comply with the Islamic dress code, further expressed hope to inspire other Iranian women to take part in major sporting events for their country.
"All female athletes want to compete at the big competitions; I hope more do so," she went on to say.
Carrying the Iranian flag at the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Games, Kalhor is the first woman to represent Iran in the Winter Olympics.
The Iranian athlete took up skiing at the age of four and decided to take the sport more seriously after winning a national youth games race at age 11. She grew up in a family of skiers in Dizin, a popular Iranian ski resort north of Tehran.
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, is being held February 12-28 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
It is the third Winter Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia.
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