Iranian Rowers Overcome Wartime Training Disruptions to Win Asian Games Gold

…with an ergometer so they could maintain their fitness at home. For roughly 45 days, Zarei trained alone, following a programme sent by her coach and covering about 20 kilometres a day on the indoor rowing machine. “ I was preparing to start training, and then I heard the bombing sounds ,” Zarei said in a conversation with The Indian Express. “It was so close to our home. When you looked out of the window, you could see the smoke. The disruption was not simply a matter of finding somewhere else to…

…first month of the war, it was really hard, harder than before.” The federation's decision to provide ergometers gave the athletes a way to continue preparing despite the collapse of their normal training environment. “ We faced a lot of difficulties after the war began, but we wanted to show that we are strong. We have given every rower an ergometer so they could continue training at home ,” federation chief Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh told The Indian Express. For Zarei, training and simply staying safe became intertwined during those first weeks. “It was both of them,” she said when asked whether she was…

…good feeling and it cannot be described,” she said. “We went through very hard training to win this medal and endured a lot of hardship to achieve this valuable medal.” She dedicated the victory to the Iranian public. “ I dedicate this medal to the dear people of Iran, who have always supported the athletes and whose prayers accompany the Iranian national team members ,” Norouzi said. “We always fight for the people of Iran, and this gold medal is for the dear people of Iran.” The road to the Nagoya medals was far from straightforward, with athletes separated from their teammates,…