The Olympics always produce stories of blowout wins and unlikely victors, and this year’s Rio games are no exception.
Consider Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin, who the Huffington Post reports not only kicked her competition to the curb in the women’s 57kg taekwondo event on Thursday, Aug. 18, but also became the first Iranian woman to ever win an Olympic medal.
The Huffington Post says that the 18-year-old bronze medalist “fell to the floor and kissed the mat after beating Nikita Glasnovic of Sweden 5-1 in a one-sided contest at the Carioca Arena 3 to secure a breakthrough bronze.”
After earning the country’s fifth medal in the Rio games, Zenoorin expressed her excitement this way, according to the Huffington Post:
“I am so happy for Iranian girls because it is the first medal and I hope at the next Olympics we will get a gold … I am very excited and I want to thank my parents and my coach. They really stand behind me and I am so happy.”
Although the young athlete already made history with her Rio win, she’s sure to be one to watch in forthcoming Olympic games.