TEHRAN -- Iranian swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei made history on Thursday by booking an Olympic berth in the qualifications tournament held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Alrezaei swam 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:03:3 minutes.
He is the first Iranian swimmer who has succeeded to book an Olympic place.
The Director of Iran’s Swimming Federation paid tribute to Alirezaei: “He paved the way for the other Iranian swimmers in the prestigious event. I hope our athletes will take advantage of the (inspiring) victory.”
Iranian swimming team will come into spotlight in the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games as well, Vahid Moradi added.
Mohammad Bidarian, another Iranian swimmer who was scheduled to participate in the 100 meters freestyle, has pulled out of the competitions as he was drawn with an Israeli swimmer.