Female Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed with her hair uncovered at the Asian Championships in South Korea on Sunday.
The 33-year-old had been praised by those protesting against Iran’s dress code after footage emerged of her climbing without a hijab on, despite it being mandatory for female athletes representing Iran abroad to wear one.
However, a post on her Instagram has now said she competed with her hair uncovered because her hijab fell off "inadvertently".
"Due to bad timing, and the unanticipated call for me to climb the wall, my head covering inadvertently came off," it explained.
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