Kimia Alizadeh made history by becoming the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal back in 2016, and despite since defecting and all the difficulties involved, the taekwondo athlete is now aiming for gold this year in Paris.
Alizadeh won bronze in the 57-kg category in Rio, but left her country in 2020 and, after competing at the Tokyo Olympics for the Refugee Olympic Team, the 25-year-old will now represent her new home, Bulgaria.
“Of course, it’s hard when you leave your country and you face a lot of new things, such as a new language, new culture and new people,” Alizadeh said.