You might have seen this headline – Kimia Alizadeh won a bronze medal for taekwondo at the 2016 summer Olympics:
Iran’s Only Female Olympic Medalist Says She Has Defected
I support Kimia’s desire to train in an environment that better supports women in sport.
The Medal Count posted a history of Women’s Gymnastics in Iran:
The Middle East has some of the worst participation rates for women in sports. …
For a sport where its athletes wear leotards, women’s artistic gymnastics (WAG) is one of the last sports these nations would ever consider due to modesty standards …
At the 1964 Olympics Iran sent women to the Olympics for the first time in its history. …
Djamileh Sorouri was only 14 years old …
She had even been sent to the Olympics without her coach. …
In response Vera Caslavska and the Czechoslovakian team stepped in. They took Djamileh Sorouri under their wing and had the young Iranian train alongside them in the buildup to the Olympics. …
The 1964 Olympics would be both the beginning and the end of Iranian Olympic gymnastics. The country hasn’t sent a gymnast from either genders to the Olympics since. …
Gymnastics Coaching.com 