Iranian Paralympic Athlete Refuses to Shake Kate Middleton's Hand (Video)
Mehrdad Karam Zadeh of Iran's Paralympic team won a silver in discuss on Sunday morning local time — but when it came time to accept his medal on the podium at the main stadium from the Duchess of Cambridge, the 40-year-old failed to offer a hand to the British royal and instead clutched his hands to his chest and bowed his head.
Moments later he was shaking the hand of a male Paralympics official who handed him a bouquet of flowers. Gold medallist Aled Davies of Britain and bronze medallist Lezheng Wang of China had both shook Middleton's hand after receiving their medals. British media report that the handshake snub was due to Iranian cultural convention which bans physical contact between men and women who are not related. A spokesman for St James's Palace said the Duchess was aware there would be no handshake with the Iranian, the Telegraph newspaper reports. "Many male athletes from Islamic countries do not shake hands in public with women [to whom] they are not related for cultural and religious reasons," the spokesman said. "The Duchess was informed in advance and was happy to accept his wishes. She considered it an honour to present the medals."