This came from an athlete who, in Rio de Janeiro 2016, had made Iranian sports history by winning bronze in taekwondo, making her the country's first woman to win an Olympic medal. The leadership of the Islamic Republic was lavish in its praise of the then-18-year-old. President Hassan Rouhani was quoted in the regime-friendly Tehran Times as saying that she had "shown the world Iranian and Islamic culture and demonstrated the courage and competence of Iranian women.