Alireza Soleimani Karbalaei ( fa, علیرضا سلیمانی کربلایی, 2 February 1956 – 21 May 2014) was an Iranian heavyweight freestyle wrestler. He was the first Iranian to win the world superheavyweight title, which he achieved in 1989. He served as the

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for Iran at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, where he placed sixth. Besides

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

, Soleimani was a champion in varzesh-e bastani and won the ''

Pahlevan of Iran Pahlevan of Iran ( fa, پهلوان ایران) is a national championship for pahlevani wrestling (''koshti pahlavāni'') held annually in Iran. Though the competition has ancient roots, its modern form began in 1944. The champion earns the titl ...

'' title and armband in pahlevani traditional wrestling six times.

References

1956 births 2014 deaths Wrestlers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Iranian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Iran Asian Games gold medalists for Iran Asian Games medalists in wrestling Pahlevans of Iran Wrestlers at the 1986 Asian Games World Wrestling Champions Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Asian Wrestling Championships medalists 20th-century Iranian people 21st-century Iranian people Sport wrestlers from Tehran {{Iran-wrestling-bio-stub