In 2015, at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Moscow, Kimia Alizadeh became the first Iranian female taekwondo athlete to win a gold medal at the adult games. The same year, she received some good news: Her old coach Mehroo Kamrani, with whom she had a close relationship — she regarded her as an older sister — had returned to the sport. At this point, Alizadeh’s standing was so high that she was able to ask the Iranian Taekwondo Federation to appoint Kamrani as the head coach of the National Women’s Taekwondo Team.

Then, at 18, came the biggest challenge of her young life: The 2016 Rio Olympic Games. That year, Kimia Alizadeh and Zahra Nemati, the Paralympic and Olympic archer, were considered to be the best chances for Iran’s female athletes to win medals.

свернуть