Zahra Nemati

Lore & Background

Zahra Nemati was born in Kerman, Iran. In 2003, she was injured in a car accident, leaving her with spinal injuries and paralysis of both legs. Prior to her injuries, she had been a black belt in taekwondo. She took up archery in 2006 and within six months finished third in the National Championships, competing against able-bodied athletes. In para-archery events she competes in the W2 classification. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she won the women's recurve W1/W2 gold medal, defeating Elisabetta Mijno of Italy 7–3 in the final. She dedicated her gold medal to 'all of the people who prayed for me to achieve this success.' She also won a team bronze with Razieh Shir Mohammadi and Zahra Javanmard. At the 2013 World Para-archery Championships in Bangkok, she won gold in the women's individual recurve W2 and a bronze in the women's team recurve. In 2015 she secured qualification for both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics. She qualified for the Olympics by placing second in the women's recurve at the 2015 Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok before winning gold at the 2015 Asian Para-archery Championships to qualify for the Paralympics. At the 2016 Olympics she placed 49th in the ranking round and was defeated by Inna Stepanova in the round of 32, finishing 33rd.

Reader's Guide

Zahra Nemati's significance lies in her dual qualification for both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics, making her the first archer to achieve this since Italian Paola Fantato in 1996. She was the first Iranian woman to win a gold medal at either the Olympic or Paralympic Games, a milestone she reached at the 2012 London Paralympics. Her career demonstrates a transition from taekwondo to archery after a spinal injury, achieving national success within six months of taking up the sport. She served as flagbearer for Iran at the 2016 Olympics and the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics, where she shared the honor with thrower Nourmohammad Arekhi. Her medal record includes two Paralympic golds, one silver, and one bronze, as well as three world championship golds and three world championship bronzes. She also won the 2013 Sport Accord's Spirit of Sport Individual Award.

Did You Know?

• Zahra Nemati was a black belt in taekwondo before her car accident in 2003.
• She took up archery in 2006 and finished third in the National Championships within six months.
• She was flagbearer for Iran at both the 2016 Olympics and the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics.

From Taekwondo to the Archery Range

Zahra Nemati was born on 30 April 1985 in Kerman, Iran, and built a strong foundation in martial arts before tragedy reshaped her athletic path. She had earned a black belt in taekwondo, demonstrating considerable skill and dedication in a physically demanding discipline. In 2003, a car accident left her with spinal injuries and paralysis of both legs, effectively ending her taekwondo career. Rather than retire from sport, Nemati sought a new avenue for competition. She took up archery in 2006, and her progress was astonishing: within just six months of picking up a bow, she finished third at the National Championships, competing alongside able-bodied athletes. This rapid ascent signaled that her competitive drive and technical aptitude had not been diminished by her injuries. She would go on to compete in the W2 classification in para-archery events, a category that would become the stage for her most celebrated achievements on the world stage.

London 2012 — A Historic Gold

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, Nemati delivered a performance that etched her name into Iranian sporting history. In the women's recurve W1/W2 individual event, she topped the ranking round with a score of 613, earning a direct bye into the round of 16. From there, her path to the final was a dominant sweep: she dispatched Italy's Mariangela Perna 6–0, defeated Turkey's Gizem Girismen 6–0 in the quarterfinals, and overcame Italy's Veronica Floreno 6–0 in the semifinal. In the gold medal match against Elisabetta Mijno of Italy, Nemati closed out a 7–3 victory to claim the title, a first for Iranian women at the Olympic or Paralympic level. She dedicated the medal to everyone who had prayed for her success. Days later, she added a team bronze alongside Razieh Shir Mohammadi and Zahra Javanmard, defeating Italy 188–184 after a narrow semifinal loss to South Korea.

Qualifying for Two Games in One Year

In 2015, Nemati accomplished something no other archer had achieved in nearly two decades: she qualified for both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the same year. She earned her Olympic berth by placing second in the women's recurve at the 2015 Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok, then secured her Paralympic spot by winning gold at the 2015 Asian Para-archery Championships. The last archer to hold dual qualification for both Games had been Italy's Paola Fantato back in 1996. Her selection as Iran's flag bearer for the Parade of Nations at the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony in January 2016 underscored the nation's recognition of her symbolic stature. At the Games themselves, she competed in the women's individual event, posting 609 in the ranking round to place 49th before falling to Russia's Inna Stepanova in the round of 32, finishing 33rd overall.

A Career of Sustained Excellence

Nemati's competitive record extends well beyond her London breakthrough, reflecting a career marked by consistent podium finishes across multiple continents and years. At the 2013 World Para-archery Championships in Bangkok, she captured individual gold in the W2 event and added a team bronze. She also claimed individual and team titles at the 2011 World Championships in Turin, and repeated her individual world title in Beijing in 2017. At the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, she earned a team gold and an individual silver. Her 2013 Sport Accord Spirit of Sport Individual Award recognized not just her results but the broader inspiration she represented. She carried that same standard into the postponed 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she shared the honour of flag bearing for Iran with thrower Nourmohammad Arekhi. Her results through 2019 in 's-Hertogenbosch, including a fourth-place individual finish, confirm a competitor who remained at the very top of the sport for well over a decade.