Zahra Nemati, Archery
The Guardian has praised Zahra Nemati as a trailblazer who “wins hearts and minds.” Born in 1985, Nemati first competed as a taekwondo athlete. But in 2003, a car accident ended her taekwondo dreams. Her spine was seriously injured and she lost use of her legs. While undergoing physiotherapy, she fell in love with Raham Shahabipour, who later became her husband. “Like me, he had been paralyzed in an accident and we could understand each other very well,” Nemati recalls. Shahabipour encouraged Nemati to continue her athletic career, and she says his support completely changed the course of her life.
The couple married in London during the 2012 Paralympic Games, in which she won a gold medal.
Nemati is now the first Iranian woman ever to have competed in both the Olympics and the Paralympics. “I wanted to show the Iranian youth, especially girls, that Iranian women are no worse than others, and we may even win the Paralympics and receive medals,” she said after winning in London. “I wanted to break the stereotype, and I’m very glad that I did it.”
At the Rio Olympics, Nemati was eliminated early on, but her chances at the Paralympics still look good.
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