Kimia Alizadeh

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Kimia Alizadeh

| caption = Alizadeh at the 2020 Summer Olympics

| native_name = کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی

| native_name_lang = fa

| image =

| nationality = Bulgarian

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1998|7|10}}

| birth_place = Karaj, Iran

| education =

| years_active = |

| website =

| country = {{IRN}} (until 2020)
Refugee Team (2021–2024)
{{BUL}} (2024-)

| sport = Taekwondo

| event = Featherweight

| retired =

| medaltemplates = {{MedalCount | 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}}

{{MedalCountry | {{BUL}} }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

{{MedalCountry | {{flagicon|IOC}} Refugee Team }}

{{MedalCountry | {{IRN}} }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

| show-medals = yes

| height = 185 cm

| weight = 57 kg

}}

Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi ({{langx|fa|کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی|Kīmiyā Alīzādeh Zonūzī}}, {{langx|bg|Кимия Ализаде|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.{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.com/persian/sport/2016/08/160818_u04_rio2016_alizadeh_bronze?ocid=socialflow_twitter | title=روز تاریخی زنان ایران در المپیک؛ علیزاده اولین زن مدال‌آور از ایران شد | publisher=BBC | date=19 August 2016 | access-date=19 August 2016}} She also won a gold medal in the women's 62-kg class at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.{{cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/multimedia-player/all-photos/2014/08/20/kimia-alizadeh-zenoorin-of-iran-after-winning-womens-63-kg-taekwondo-/|title=Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin of Iran after Winning Women's 63-kg Taekwondo|work=olympic.org|date=23 April 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tasnimnews.com/english/Home/Single/455487|title=Tasnim News Agency - Kimia Alizadeh to Carry Iran's Flag in Youth Olympics|work=tasnimnews.com}} She beat London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 gold medallist Jade Jones at the 2015 World Championship to win a bronze medal.{{cite web|url=http://www.gbtaekwondo.co.uk/OLYMPIC-CHAMPION-JONES-SUFFERS-WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIP-AGONY-news-436.html|title=Olympic champion Jones suffers world championship agony|work=gbtaekwondo.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520222455/http://www.gbtaekwondo.co.uk/OLYMPIC-CHAMPION-JONES-SUFFERS-WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIP-AGONY-news-436.html|archive-date=20 May 2015|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51084620 |title=Kimia Alizadeh: Iran's only female Olympic medallist defects |work=BBC News |date=12 January 2020 |access-date=12 January 2020}} Explaining her defection, she stated, "I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years."{{cite web | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/12/middleeast/iran-kimia-alizadeh-defects/index.html | title=Iran's sole female Olympic medalist says she's defected | publisher=CNN | work=Vasco Cotovio | date=12 January 2020 | access-date=12 January 2020}} 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.{{Cite news|date=2020-01-24|title=Runaway Iranian athlete wants to compete for Germany in Tokyo|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-defection-alizadeh-idUSKBN1ZN28K|access-date=2020-08-19}}

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

Kimia was born in Karaj. Her family are Azerbaijani .{{cite news|url=http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1353887/%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%DA%86%D9%87-%DA%AF%D8%B0%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%9F|title=در خندوانه کیمیا علیزاده چه گذشت؟|publisher=Varzesh3|date=30 August 2016|access-date=30 August 2016}} Her father is from Zonuz near Tabriz and her mother is from Ardabil.{{cite news|url=http://kimiaalizadeh.ir/398|title=شفاف سازی نام و اصالت کیمیا علیزاده از زبان پدرشان|publisher=kimiaalizadeh website|access-date=23 August 2016|archive-date=18 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218200301/http://kimiaalizadeh.ir/398|url-status=dead}} Until after the 2016 Olympics her last name was incorrectly recorded as Zenoorin.

Taekwondo career

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/12/795727458/irans-only-female-olympic-medalist-says-she-has-defected |title=Iranian Olympian Kimia Alizadeh Says She Has Defected |publisher=NPR |access-date=2020-01-13}} Her victory made her the first Iranian woman to win a medal at a Summer Olympics.

She also won a gold medal in the women's 63-kg class at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympics. She beat London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 gold medallist Jade Jones at the 2015 World Championship to win a bronze medal. 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50042279|title=BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list?|date=16 October 2019|access-date=17 October 2019|language=en-GB}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/kimia-alizadeh-shows-true-fighting-spirit-after-just-losing-out-on-a-bronze-meda|title=Kimia Alizadeh misses out on first Refugee Olympic Team medal|access-date=21 August 2021|archive-date=21 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821193020/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/kimia-alizadeh-shows-true-fighting-spirit-after-just-losing-out-on-a-bronze-meda|url-status=dead}}

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.{{Cite news |date=2024-03-27 |title=Медалистка в таекуондото от Рио 2016 ще представя България на игрите в Париж |url=https://www.dnevnik.bg/burzi-novini/2024/03/27/4606023_burzi_novini_27_mart/#4606452 |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=Dnevnik (Bulgarian newspaper)}} 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.{{Cite news |date=2024-04-13 |title=Иранката Кимия Ализадех получи български паспорт и ще участва на олимпийските игри |url=https://www.dnevnik.bg/burzi-novini/2024/04/12/4613723_burzi_novini_13_april/#4613945 |access-date=2024-04-15 |work=Dnevnik (Bulgarian newspaper)}} At the Paris Olympics, Alizadeh became Bulgaria's first-ever taekwondo athlete at the Olympics and won bronze.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-09 |title=Two Friends Make Olympics History for Iran and Bulgaria |url=https://iranwire.com/en/sports/132704-two-friends-make-olympics-history-for-iran-and-bulgaria/ |website=iranwire.com}}{{Cite web |title=Kimia Alizadeh Secures Bulgaria’s First-Ever Olympic Medal in Taekwondo! - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/227633/Kimia+Alizadeh+Secures+Bulgaria%E2%80%99s+First-Ever+Olympic+Medal+in+Taekwondo |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=www.novinite.com}}

Defection

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.{{cite web|author=Live |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200113-iran-s-alizadeh-training-in-dutch-city-after-defecting-coach |title=Iran's Alizadeh training in Dutch city after defecting: coach |publisher=France 24 |date=1970-01-01 |access-date=2020-01-14}}{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-olympian-alizadeh-defector-compete-germany/30385674.html|title=Iran Olympian, Defector Would Be 'Happy To Compete For Germany'|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=19 January 2020|access-date=21 January 2020}}

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."{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2020/01/12/the-elite-narrative-on-iran-brushes-aside-the-fury-of-the-iranian-people/ |title=The elite narrative on Iran brushes aside fury of Iranian people |publisher=New York Post |date=2020-01-12 |access-date=2020-01-14}} "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.{{Cite web|author=Vasco Cotovio|title=Iran's sole female Olympic medalist says she's defected|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/12/middleeast/iran-kimia-alizadeh-defects/index.html|access-date=2020-08-19|website=CNN|date=12 January 2020 }} 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."

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”.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/01/12/kimia-alizadeh-iran-olympian-defects/ |title=Kimia Alizadeh defects: Iran's only Olympic medalist leaves country with scathing criticism |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2020-01-13}}

In the months prior to her defection, a number of top Iranian sports figures had decided to stop representing — or to physically leave — Iran. 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. 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.

References

External links

[http://kimiaalizadeh.ir/ Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113233225/http://kimiaalizadeh.ir/https://t.me/kimiaalizadeh98 |date=13 January 2020 }}

{{Instagram|kimiya.alizade}}
{{Telegram|https://t.me/kimiaalizadeh98}}

Additional sources

[https://web.archive.org/web/20160820185216/https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/kimia-alizadeh-zenoorin-hedaya-wahba-muslim-women-taekwondo-rio-2016-olympics Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin and Hedaya Wahba lead charge of Muslim women in taekwondo] Official website of 2016 Summer Olympics

Category:1998 births

Category:Living people

Category:Taekwondo practitioners at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics

Category:Sportspeople from Karaj

Category:Bulgarian female taekwondo practitioners

Category:Iranian female taekwondo practitioners

Category:Taekwondo practitioners at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Category:Taekwondo practitioners at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Category:Taekwondo practitioners at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Iran