By Julian Linden, OCA Media
Nagoya, Japan, September 24, 2026: Risking their lives to pursue their sporting dream after they were ordered to remain indoors because of the conflict in their homeland, Iran’s trailblazing female rowers showed just how courageous they are by winning two gold medals at the Asian Games on Thursday.
Iran had never won a gold medal in women’s rowing at the Asian Games but broke the drought by collecting two in a 20-minute blitz at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course.
Overcoming unimaginable difficulties in trying to prepare for the competition, Fatemeh Mojallal stormed to victory in the lightweight sculls before Kimia Zarei and Zeinab Norouzi teamed up for a commanding win in the lightweight double sculls.
Mojallal also picked up a bronze in the single sculls while Zarei and Norouzi added a silver in the double sculls and Iran won another silver in the quadruple sculls.
It was a magical day for a team that had spent seven weeks exercising away from their boats because of the war.
While training on an ergometer kept them fit, they still needed to get back on the water if they wanted to contend for gold at the Asian Games - so they risked everything after being told to bunker down.
“It was seven months until the Nagoya Asian Games when the war started in my country and we had to train in our homes for about 50 days which is too much for a rower to be away from camps, from professional training and athletic atmosphere,” Zarei said.
“Every day, I did 20 kilometres on the erg then we got back into camp even though there was still a war in our country.
“It was a big risk for us but we risked our lives because we wanted this moment and we wanted this medal for Iranian girls and athletes, Asian Games medals really matter.”
While her racing partner Norouzi collected two silver medals at the last Asian Games in China, Zarei left empty-handed four years ago after missing out on bronze by just a quarter of a second so she was determined not to let anything stop her this time.
Shattered after missing out in Hangzhou, Zarei made big changes to her life. Inspired by her mother who taught her to be independent, work hard and not rely on others, she adjusted the way she trained, changed what she ate and began to use her social media accounts to promote the positive benefits of being an elite female athlete while ignoring any negativity.
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“It can be positive in a way that you try to motivate the girls at home, try to show them and try to share your experiences with them,” she said.
“Especially in the country where I live, because in Iran we have very unique challenges in my country, especially this year.
“I was preparing to start training and then I heard the bombing sounds. It was so close to our home and, when you looked out of the window, you could see everything.
“The federation cancelled the training camp and told each athlete to get back to their homes. When we got back, the only thing we could do was to take one ergometer in our home and every day, try to row.”
