IOC comments on Iran-Israel swimming controversy: National Olympics | adn.com

An Iranian swimmer withdrew from a race at the Beijing Olympics because of an illness and not due to the presence of an Israeli athlete in the same competition, the International Olympic Committee said Monday.

Iran's Mohammad Alirezaei was scheduled to swim in heat four of the men's 100m breaststroke competition Saturday, but dropped out of the race. The presence of Israel's Tom Beeri in the same heat was originally believed to be the reason for Alirezaei's withdrawal.

However, Giselle Davies, director of communications for the IOC, said that Alirezaei withdrew because of sickness and submitted his case in writing to his Federation.

"We've spoken with the (Iranian) National Olympic Committee," said Davies. "They have underlined to us that all athletes compete here in the right spirit, against athletes of any nationality. We take both the athlete and the National Olympic Committee at their word on this."

It's no secret that the relationship between Iran and Israel is strained. The situation hasn't been helped by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claims in recent years that the holocaust in World War II is a "myth. The government of Iran also denies the validity of the Israeli nation.

At the 2004 Games in Athens, an Iranian athlete Arash Miresmaeili, a two-time world judo champion, refused to compete against Israel's Ehud Vaks in the opening round of the 66kg competition. He admitted that he made his decision to show solidarity for the Palestinian cause.