Bahman Golbarnezhad ( fa, بهمن گلبارنژاد, 12 June 1968 – 17 September 2016) was an Iranian

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

competing in C4 classification events and an earlier

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

. During his powerlifting career, he won twelve gold medals and one silver medal in international competitions. Golbarnezhad had represented Iran in two Summer Paralympic Games, first in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

in London and later in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

in Rio de Janeiro. He was the only Iranian cyclist at the 2016 Paralympics. He was a veteran of the

Iran–Iraq war The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

. On 17 September 2016, Golbarnezhad died in an accident which occurred during the 2016 Summer Paralympics' men's C4-5 road cycling event.

Early life and career

Golbarnezhad was born and raised in

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. During the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

, he relocated to

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

. In 1988, he fought for Iran in the war and lost his left leg when he walked on a

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. Three years after his injury, he started his professional sporting career first as a wrestler, then he turned to

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

. In his weightlifting career, he won twelve gold medals and one silver medal. He stopped weightlifting due to a shoulder injury and started cycling in 2006. He qualified for 2012 London Paralympics the same year that his first wife died due to cancer. Golbarnezhad and his wife had one son.

Major competitions

;2012 Summer Paralympics : Men's road race C4-5 :18th Men's 1 km time trial C4-5 ;2016 Summer Paralympics :14th Men's time trial C4 : Men's road race C4-5

Death

Funeral of Bahman Golbarnezhad 139507011400163908722664

During the men's C4-5

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

event on 17 September 2016 at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, Golbarnezhad suffered a head injury during a collision with a rock on a mountainous stretch of the circuit in

Pontal Pontal is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 millio ...

, a small peninsula and beach area in the

Recreio dos Bandeirantes Recreio dos Bandeirantes (or simply Recreio) is both the name of a beach and neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a recent development, with no skyscrapers, and the area also contains jungles atop rocky cliffs and hill ...

neighborhood of western Rio. Golbarnezhad was treated on-site, and was in the process of being transported to the athletes' hospital when he died from a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. The

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

(UCI) announced that it would investigate the incident, and the

I. R. Iran National Paralympic Committee The Paralympic Committee of Iran is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent Iran at the Paralympic Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Iranian teams at the events. Presidents See also *National ...

requested a report on the incident from the IPC. Golbarnezhad's death marked the first time since the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

that an Olympic or Paralympic athlete had died during competition. Following the incident, the

flag of Iran The national flag of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, پرچم ایران, Parčam-e Irân, ), also known as the Tricolour, tricolor ( fa, پرچم سه‌رنگ ایران, Parčam-e se rang-e Irân, link=no, ), is a tricolour (flag ...

was lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village, and for the Iranian

sitting volleyball Sitting volleyball is a form of volleyball for athletes with a disability. As opposed to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor during the game. History Sitting volleyball was inve ...

victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina. A period of silence was also held during the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

Reactions to his death

*The IPC President Sir

Philip Craven Sir Philip Lee Craven (born 4 July 1950) is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralymp ...

: "This is truly heart-breaking news and the thoughts and condolences of the whole Paralympic Movement are with Bahman's family, friends, and teammates as well as the whole of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Iran. The Paralympic Family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio." *Iranian Paralympic Committee: "He was an exemplary Paralympic sportsman who, with love and energy, tried his best to promote the name of Iran and to make all of us proud and at the end he gave his life for this. All members of the Iranian cultural and sports camp here express condolences to his family and the Iranian nation. The name of Bahman Golbarnezhad will be inscribed in the proud history of Iranian Paralympics." *

Carlos Arthur Nuzman Carlos Arthur Nuzman (born 17 March 1942) is a Brazilian lawyer and former volleyball player, having competed professionally from 1957 to 1972 and represented the Brazil men's national volleyball team, national team between 1962 and 1968. Nuzman ...

, president of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee: "This is very sad news for sport and for the Paralympic movement. Our hearts and prayers are with Bahman's family, his team-mates and all the people of Iran." *

Brian Cookson Michael Brian Cookson OBE (born 22 June 1951) is the former president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), having been elected to the post in September 2013 at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships. Cookson previously served as presiden ...

: "Devastated to hear about the death of Iranian rider Bahman Golbarnezhad. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and the NPC of Iran to whom we offer our most sincere condolences." *Iranian president

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...

condoled the demise of Golbarnezhad and said on his Twitter account that "The death of Bahman Golbarnezhad during Rio Paralympic Games is sad news for all of us." *The Iranian men's national sitting volleyball team dedicated their gold win at the

to the memory of Bahman Golbarnezhad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golbarnezhad, Bahman 1968 births 2016 deaths Iranian male cyclists Iranian wrestlers Iranian track cyclists People from Abadan, Iran Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic cyclists of Iran Iranian amputees Iranian powerlifters Male powerlifters Cyclists who died while racing Olympic deaths Sport deaths in Brazil Road incident deaths in Brazil Sportspeople from Khuzestan province Volunteer Basij personnel of the Iran–Iraq War