The Islamic Solidarity Games are being held in Konya, Turkey in 2021 for the sixth time. A COVID-19 infection still wears Farzaneh Fasihi down, so her heart races as she leans down at the starting line.
Despite having a tight chest, she is determined to compete. She launches forward as quickly as she can, her legs thumping more quickly than ever, as the starter's pistol goes off.
She breaks her 100-meter sprint record and wins the silver medal in an incredible time of 11.12 seconds, but instead of collapsing at the finish line from tiredness, she collapses from sheer emotion.
"My life's memories flood my head the night before a race. Speaking in a Zoom interview from Belgrade, Serbia, Fasihi told Al Jazeera, "All the struggles I've faced and all my accomplishments fly before my eyes like a film reel." The fastest female runner in history from Iran is at a training camp ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, which begin on July 26. She will compete in her favourite event, the 100-meter sprint.
Fasihi has had many difficulties in the past, but she has always been able to rely on her close friends and family for assistance.
Fasihi, 31, was born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1993. He comes from a family of athletes. Her brother was a champion swimmer and diver, while her father played volleyball.
She remembers, "My father attended all of my training sessions before I got married." "Mom was present at every tournament I participated in. I could not have achieved this without their help.
Fasihi performed gymnastics from the age of five to twelve. She remembers that her initial attempt at competitive sprinting was more accidental than intentional.
"My gym instructor made me compete in a running competition while I was in middle school. I was reluctant to do it," recalls Fasihi. Her enthusiasm for track and field was sparked that day when she smashed the regional record in Isfahan.
She debuted internationally in 2016. Achieving a silver medal in the 4400 metre relay at the Asia Indoor Athletics Championship in Doha, Qatar, Fasihi's team outperformed expectations.
However, her remarkable achievement did not propel her career in running to unprecedented heights. She gave up on all of that and became a personal fitness trainer after receiving minimal assistance from the Iranian Track and Field Association.
Image Source: Twitter
All of that changed when she decided to pursue competitive sprinting again in the latter part of 2018.
She unexpectedly married one of her instructors, Amir Hosseini, a man who has been her steadfast supporter, a year after making that decision.
With Hosseini providing a solid support system, Fasihi's career practically took off in 2020.
She competed at the World Athletics Indoor Championships when the relatively unknown runner stunned the field by setting a stunning entry record in the 60-meter sprint in Belgrade, Serbia, with a timing of 7.29 seconds.
Fasihi had not only unexpectedly set a quick time, but she had also made history by being the first female Iranian competitor at the tournament. She was initially dubbed "Jaguar" after her shocking performance in Belgrade, which was a tribute to her fierce acceleration right out of the gate.
She became the first female legionnaire in Iran's track and field history a year later, in 2021, when she signed with the Serbian athletics club BAK. A legionnaire is a foreign athlete who is signed and sponsored by a club to relocate and compete for them.
At the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2023, Fasihi would go on to win gold in the 60-meter event with a thrilling time of 7.28 seconds.
Farzaneh Fasihi dominated her group and advanced to the next round. Huge congrats to #Iran's fastest woman! #Olympics2021 #فرزانه_فصیحی https://t.co/SvFANIKDa0 pic.twitter.com/xMtz5pxdOm
— Reza H. Akbari (@rezahakbari) July 30, 2021
Even while that personal best performance was amazing and joyous—breaking the Asian 60-meter sprinting record would normally be enough for raucous celebrations—the day would be remembered for something much deeper.
Fasihi turned to face the camera as she approached the podium and said, "For the people of Iran." For the well-being of the Iranian people!
Social media users went viral for Fasihi's protest moment, in which she refused to carry the Iranian flag and instead bowed her head while sobbing quietly. She also declined to sing the national hymn during the victory parade.
This was her method of making her message about the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who fell and died in 2022, supposedly after being arrested by Iran's morality police for donning a headscarf, which was considered "improper."
Through the "Women, Life, Freedom" campaign, Amini's passing inspired female activists worldwide and made headlines around the world.
Fasihi had already begun her journey towards her Olympic ambition two years prior when she was chosen to compete in Tokyo 2020 based on a system known as "universality placement."
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) established the universality placement policy, which permits athletes from underrepresented nations to compete even if they do not meet the traditional qualifying requirements. The goal of the strategy is to guarantee inclusiveness and greater worldwide representation during the Olympic events.
Fasihi represented Iran in the 100-meter sprint at Tokyo, her first competition in the sport in 57 years. Simin Safamehr, who coincidentally competed in both the long jump and the 100-meter sprint, made history as the first Iranian female athlete to represent her country in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964.
While wearing her headscarf, Fasihi received criticism for it. This led to a flurry of discussion on Iranian social media, with some arguing that the restrictive clothing code made her perform less well, reduced her media visibility, and limited her possibilities for sponsorship. Fasihi finished 50th in Tokyo.
She did, however, have the chance to meet her idol in sprinting, Jamaican track and field athlete Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, during the Tokyo Olympics. "After our meeting, I loved her even more. Her lifestyle is remarkable since she supports several causes in addition to being a professional athlete, wife, and mother.
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Although Fasihi's performance in Tokyo wasn't at her best, it simply made her want to do better the following time.
"I will compete on my merit - not through universality placement," Fasihi told Al Jazeera, "which makes Paris [the 2024 Olympics] different."
Fasihi persists in accomplishing her objectives despite the structural obstacles, particularly the absence of formal government backing for elite female athletes in Iran. She competes, pays for her training alone, and is trying to get little sponsorships.
Though he acknowledges the differences in resources across the nations, Fasihi thinks that significant expenditures in sports by nations like China, India, and Japan will produce outstanding outcomes in Asian athletics.
For instance, in Qatar, athletes work with American trainers, and the federation brings in international analysts, physiotherapists, and sports medicine doctors. According to her, training camps are organised in Florida by both China and Japan.
Fasihi participated in the Doha Diamond League 100-meter event in May 2024, however, he finished last in the championship match-up against a stellar field of sprinters from the US, UK, Hungary, and Jamaica.
She will compete against the top athletes in the world at the Olympics in Paris. She doesn't have any exaggerated expectations for herself. She just pays attention to her performance, which is what she can control.
"Being an Olympic competitor is a huge challenge," Fasihi remarked. "I want to compete against myself," My goal is to surpass my record.
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