 Alizadeh at the 2016 Summer Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Iranian Bulgarian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 July 1998 Karaj, Iran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Iran (until 2020)Refugee Team (2021–2024)  Bulgaria (2024-) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Taekwondo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Featherweight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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.
- ^ "روز تاریخی زنان ایران در المپیک؛ علیزاده اولین زن مدالآور از ایران شد". BBC. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin of Iran after Winning Women's 63-kg Taekwondo". olympic.org. 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Tasnim News Agency - Kimia Alizadeh to Carry Iran's Flag in Youth Olympics". tasnimnews.com.
- ^ "Olympic champion Jones suffers world championship agony". gbtaekwondo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015.
- ^ "Kimia Alizadeh: Iran's only female Olympic medallist defects". BBC News. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Iran's sole female Olympic medalist says she's defected". Vasco Cotovio. CNN. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Runaway Iranian athlete wants to compete for Germany in Tokyo". Reuters. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.