Kimia Alizadeh, Only Iranian Female Olympic Medalist, Heads to Tokyo Under Neutral Flag

Kimia Alizadeh, the only Iranian female athlete to win an Olympic medal, whose refugee application has recently been accepted by Germany, will compete under a neutral flag at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.

According to Reuters news agency, Kimia Alizadeh will be one of the members of the Olympic refugee team this summer and will compete in taekwondo events.

Kimia Alizadeh was a member of Iran’s national team at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio and won a bronze medal in taekwondo. This was the first medal in the history of Iranian sports in women’s Olympic Games competitions.

Kimia Alizadeh fled Iran last year and became a refugee in Germany. During this time, she received requests from the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, and Bulgaria to compete in taekwondo events on their behalf.

However, she rejected these requests and wants to compete as a member of the Olympic refugee team under a neutral flag at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.

Kimia Alizadeh says she left her homeland because she was tired of being used as a propaganda tool.

Ms. Alizadeh told Reuters: “Taekwondo changed my life. When I won the medal, I was the first Iranian woman, and after that, everyone knew me, and … it was hard.”

The 22-year-old athlete currently resides in the city of Aschaffenburg in the state of Bavaria and trains with her husband.

Next month, if she succeeds in the European qualifying competitions in Sofia, she will obtain permission to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

If Kimia Alizadeh qualifies for the Olympics, she will join the refugee team, which will be selected in June from among 55 athletes in 12 sports.