Iran's first Winter Olympian completes slalom

British Columbia: For Marjan Kalhor, the most important thing about competing at the Winter Olympics was that she started, not where she finished.

Kalhor, wearing a pink Islamic headscarf beneath her safety helmet, finished last among the 55 skiers who completed the women's slalom on Friday.

She was a full 35.71 seconds behind winner Maria Riesch of Germany. She was the first Iranian to compete at the Winter Games.

"I'm proud," the 21-year-old Kalhor said through a translator. "I'm the first one and we'll practice and practice, and we'll be better in the next Olympics."

Kalhor said the headscarf she wears to comply with Islamic dress code was no big deal: "We're used to it, we wear it at every event in Iran and everywhere we go."

Kalhor, who grew up in a popular ski area in Iran and started skiing at age four, said competition is encouraged. She has also competed in grass skiing.

"Women in Iran are free, and accept that the Islamic revolution rules ... President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad wants women to be more active, to be free," she said.