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Kimia Alizadeh

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Kimia Alizadeh
Alizadeh at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Native nameکیمیا علیزاده زنوزی
NationalityIranian
Bulgarian
Born (1998-07-10) 10 July 1998 (age 26)
Karaj, Iran
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country Iran (until 2020)
Refugee Team (2021–2024)
 Bulgaria (2024-)
SportTaekwondo
EventFeatherweight
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Summer Olympics 0 0 2
World Championships 0 1 1
Grand Prix 1 0 0
Asian Championships 0 0 1
European Championships 1 0 1
Team World Cup 0 1 0
Youth Olympics 1 0 0
World Junior Championships 1 0 0
Representing  Bulgaria
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris 57 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Belgrade 62 kg
Representing International Olympic Committee Refugee Team
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Manchester 62 kg
Representing  Iran
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 57 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Muju 63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Chelyabinsk 57 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2015 Moscow 57 kg
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Ho Chi Minh City 62 kg
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nanjing 63 kg
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Taipei 52 kg

Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi (Persian: کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی, romanized: Kīmiyā Alīzādeh Zonūzī, Bulgarian: Кимия Ализаде, romanized: Kimiya Alizade; born 10 July 1998) is an Iranian-born Bulgarian taekwondo athlete, representing Bulgaria. Alizadeh won a bronze medal in the taekwondo 57 kg weight class at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by defeating Swedish athlete Nikita Glasnović. This made her the first Iranian woman to win a medal at a Summer Olympics.[1] She also won a gold medal in the women's 63-kg class at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.[2][3] She beat London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 gold medallist Jade Jones at the 2015 World Championship to win a bronze medal.[4] She also won a silver medal two years later at the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships.

In January 2020, Alizadeh announced that she was leaving Iran permanently for Europe.[5] Explaining her defection, she stated, "I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years."[6] She stated she did not intend to compete for Iran in the 2020 Summer Olympics, and expressed desire to compete for her place of residence, Germany.[7] Having been licensed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, she was finally represented by the Refugee Olympic Team. Alizadeh won bronze at the 2022 European Taekwondo Championships while representing the Refugee Team.

In 2024, she received her Bulgarian citizenship before winning gold at the 2024 European Taekwondo Championships and representing Bulgaria at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where she won bronze.

Early life

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Kimia was born in Karaj. Her family are Iranian of Azerbaijani origin.[8] Her father is from Zonuz near Tabriz and her mother is from Ardabil.[9] Until after the 2016 Olympics her last name was incorrectly recorded as Zenoorin.[9]

Taekwondo career

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Alizadeh at 18 years of age won a bronze medal in the taekwondo 57 kg weight class at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by defeating Swedish athlete Nikita Glasnović.[10] Her victory made her the first Iranian woman to win a medal at a Summer Olympics.[1]

She also won a gold medal in the women's 63-kg class at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympics.[2][3] She beat London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 gold medallist Jade Jones at the 2015 World Championship to win a bronze medal.[4] She also won a silver medal two years later at the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships.

She was listed in 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019 by BBC.[11]

During the 2020 Summer Olympics, Alizadeh represented the Refugee Olympic Team, defeating Iranian athlete Nahid Kiani and pulling an upset against number one ranked Jade Jones before losing out on a bronze medal.[12]

In 2022, Alizadeh won bronze at the 2022 European Taekwondo Championships while representing the Refugee Team. In March 2024, the Bulgaria Taekwondo Federation announced that Alizadeh would represent Bulgaria at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[13] Before the Olympics in May 2024, she represented Bulgaria at the 2024 European Championships, where she won the gold medal in women's 62 kg.[14] At the Paris Olympics, Alizadeh became Bulgaria's first-ever taekwondo athlete at the Olympics and won bronze.[15][16]

Defection

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On 10 January 2020, Alizadeh announced she was defecting and leaving her birth country, with searing criticism of the regime of Iran. She did not compete for Iran in the 2020 Summer Olympics, and considered competing for Germany, but ultimately competed on the refugee team.[17][18]

She wrote an Instagram post explaining she was defecting because of constraint of women in Iran, calling herself "one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who [Iran's rulers] have been playing with for years."[19] "They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me," she wrote, adding that credit always went to those in charge.[20] She wrote further that she "didn't want to sit at the table of hypocrisy, lies, injustice and flattery" any longer, nor remain complicit with the regime's "corruption and lies."[19]

She has expressed her love for her country and country women many times; however, her issue is with the rulers.

Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, a member of Iran's parliament, accused “incompetent officials” of allowing Iran's “human capital to flee”.[21]

In the months prior to her defection, a number of top Iranian sports figures had decided to stop representing — or to physically leave — Iran.[10] In September 2019, Saeid Mollaei, who practices judo and was world champion, left Iran for Germany after Iranian officials allegedly pressured him to throw a match to avoid competing against Israelis.[10][21] Alireza Firouzja, who was Iran's top-rated chess champion, decided to stop playing for Iran in December 2019 because of Iran's informal ban on competing against Israeli players.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "روز تاریخی زنان ایران در المپیک؛ علیزاده اولین زن مدال‌آور از ایران شد". BBC. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin of Iran after Winning Women's 63-kg Taekwondo". olympic.org. 23 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Tasnim News Agency - Kimia Alizadeh to Carry Iran's Flag in Youth Olympics". tasnimnews.com.
  4. ^ a b "Olympic champion Jones suffers world championship agony". gbtaekwondo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Kimia Alizadeh: Iran's only female Olympic medallist defects". BBC News. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Iran's sole female Olympic medalist says she's defected". Vasco Cotovio. CNN. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Runaway Iranian athlete wants to compete for Germany in Tokyo". Reuters. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. ^ "در خندوانه کیمیا علیزاده چه گذشت؟". Varzesh3. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  9. ^ a b "شفاف سازی نام و اصالت کیمیا علیزاده از زبان پدرشان". kimiaalizadeh website. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d "Iranian Olympian Kimia Alizadeh Says She Has Defected". NPR. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  11. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list?". 16 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Kimia Alizadeh misses out on first Refugee Olympic Team medal". Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Медалистка в таекуондото от Рио 2016 ще представя България на игрите в Париж". Dnevnik (Bulgarian newspaper). 27 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Иранката Кимия Ализадех получи български паспорт и ще участва на олимпийските игри". Dnevnik (Bulgarian newspaper). 13 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Two Friends Make Olympics History for Iran and Bulgaria". iranwire.com. 9 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Kimia Alizadeh Secures Bulgaria's First-Ever Olympic Medal in Taekwondo! - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  17. ^ Live (1 January 1970). "Iran's Alizadeh training in Dutch city after defecting: coach". France 24. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Iran Olympian, Defector Would Be 'Happy To Compete For Germany'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  19. ^ a b "The elite narrative on Iran brushes aside fury of Iranian people". New York Post. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  20. ^ Vasco Cotovio (12 January 2020). "Iran's sole female Olympic medalist says she's defected". CNN. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Kimia Alizadeh defects: Iran's only Olympic medalist leaves country with scathing criticism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
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