Iranian with a Swiss team – Faranak Partoazar: The pioneer of mountain bike sport

Iranian mountain biker Faranak Partoazar has overcome some obstacles and had to fight hard for her career.

“It was a strong signal – and triggered a slow change.” This is how Faranak Partoazar described winning their bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Championships. It was Iran’s first medal. A year later, an Iranian driver followed suit on the street.

But the road to get there was long. Women on bicycles were not encouraged in Iran, as Partoazar described: “The men were allowed to race, we were not. The men had a masseur, we didn’t. The men were allowed to eat first – we still got the leftovers.”

Driven away by the police

But even after winning a medal, the now 34-year-old was often not accepted. Partoazar was surprised by the police during a training session and asked to stop. “I figured if I stop now, they’ll arrest me,” she explained. Therefore, the mountain biker continued and was covered with insults.

The annoyed police officer called after her that she was not allowed to drive in this outfit, Partoazar wore the official dress of the Iranian national team. 10 minutes after fleeing the police, the association called to confirm that the Iranian was actually part of the national team.

A team in Switzerland

Partoazar used to travel alone and had to organize everything himself. However, the mountain biker has found a team for two years now – in Switzerland. Team manager Ariane Lüthi is impressed: “I don’t know anyone else who has such willpower.”

Partoazar’s next goal is to win the gold medal at the Asian Championships – which would be equivalent to qualifying for the Paris Olympics. It would be the culmination of a career in which various obstacles were overcome.