Over the years, many athletes found their recognition in sports fields and transcended it to socio-political awareness. From Sócrates and The Corinthians’ Democracy movement to fasten fists of Tommy Smith and John Carlos against the U.S. racial discrimination and violence against Black people. For a long time, in favor of the separation of politics and sports, there has been an attempt to encourage athletes to avoid using their fame and identity to represent socio-political views. Also, there is a force from so many other countries to their athletes to convey the government’s official stance. The athlete’s own identity and socio-political perspectives are underestimated in this way. The international community has criticized Iran for imposing political bias on its athletes. This story is about Iranian Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

This Story was awarded 1st place in the IPPOY (Iranian Press Photo Awards of the Year) 2021 for the Sports Story category.