Iran at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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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 ...
(officially the Islamic Republic of Iran) competed at the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's debut in
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, Iranian athletes had attended in every
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
of the modern era, with the exception of the
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
and
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
. The
National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a sports governing body situated in Tehran, Iran. It concerns the matters related to the Olympics. The current president of National Olympic Committee of Iran is Mahmoud Khosravivafa, ...
fielded a team of 63 athletes, 54 men and 9 women, across 15 sports at the Games. It was the nation's second-largest delegation sent to the Olympics, and featured Iran's highest female participation in history. Men's volleyball was the only team-based sport in which Iran was represented at the Games, the nation's Olympic debut. Wrestling accounted for the largest number of athletes by an individual-based sport with 12 entries; there was only a single competitor each in archery, boxing, flatwater canoeing, rowing, and swimming. The Iranian roster featured a number of past Olympic medalists, including discus thrower
Ehsan Haddadi Ehsan Haddadi ( fa, احسان حدادی, born 20 January 1985, in Tehran) is an Iranian discus thrower. His height is 193 cm and his weight is 127 kg. The 2004 Asian Junior Champion, he won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Cham ...
, who won the nation's first ever athletics medal with a silver, and four defending champions from London: weightlifter
Behdad Salimi Behdad Salimi Kordasiabi ( fa, بهداد سلیمی كردآسیابی, born 8 December 1989) is former Iranian heavyweight weightlifter. He won gold medals at the 2012 Olympics, 2010–2018 Asian Games, 2010 and 2011 World Championships an ...
, and Greco-Roman wrestlers
Hamid Sourian Hamid Sourian Reihanpour ( fa, حمید سوریان ریحان‌پور; born 24 August 1985) is a retired Iranian wrestler. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Greco-Roman wrestlers of all time. Sourian is 2012 Summer Olympic games gol ...
,
Omid Norouzi Omid Norouzi ( fa, امید نوروزی, born 18 February 1986) is an Iranian wrestler. In 2010 he won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games and another gold medal in the Greco-Roman 60 kg category at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. ...
, and
Ghasem Rezaei Ghasem Rezaei ( fa, قاسم رضايى, born 18 August 1985) is an Iranian former Greco-Roman wrestler. He was an Olympic gold and bronze medalist and two-time Asian Champion. His nickname is Tiger of Amol. Career Rezaei first success at the ...
. Other notable Iranian athletes included table tennis player
Noshad Alamian Noshad Alamiyan Darounkolaei ( fa, نوشاد عالمیان درونكلایی, born 21 November 1991 in Babol) is an Iranian table tennis player. Noshad Alamiyan made a breakthrough at 2008 ITTF World Junior Championships held in Madrid, Spai ...
and his younger brother Nima in the men's singles, rifle shooter and London 2012 finalist Elaheh Ahmadi, and paraplegic archer
Zahra Nemati Zahra Nemati ( fa, زهرا نعمتی, born 30 April 1985) is an Iranian Paralympic and Olympic archer. She originally competed in taekwondo before she was paralyzed in a car accident. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics she won two medals, an indiv ...
, who significantly became the nation's first ever female athlete to earn an Olympic or Paralympic title four years earlier. Consequently, Nemati's story and sporting success prompted her to lead the Iranian delegation as the nation's third female flag bearer in Olympic history during the opening ceremony. Iran left Rio de Janeiro with a total of 8 medals (3 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze), finishing twenty-fourth in the overall standings. Five of these medals were awarded to the team in wrestling, two in weightlifting, and one in taekwondo. Among the nation's medalists were taekwondo fighter
Kimia Alizadeh Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi ( fa, کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی, Kīmiyā Alīzādeh Zonūzī; born 10 July 1998) is an Iranian Taekwondo athlete. Alizadeh won a bronze medal in the taekwondo 57 kg weight class at the 2016 Summer Olympics ...
, who became the first Iranian woman to stand on the podium by taking the bronze, and weightlifter
Kianoush Rostami Kianoush Rostami ( fa, کیانوش رستمی, born 23 July 1991) is an Iranian Kurdish Olympic weightlifter, Olympian weightlifter. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in the 85 kg event, winning the gold medal and setting a new world rec ...
, who bested his runner-up feat from London, lifting a new world record for gold in the men's 85 kg category.


Medalists


Competitors


Archery

One Iranian archer qualified for the women's individual recurve by obtaining one of the three Olympic places available from the
2015 Asian Archery Championships The 2015 Asian Archery Championships were the 19th edition of the event, and were held in Bangkok, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at ...
in
Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population ...
.


Athletics

Iranian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ;Track & road events ;Field events


Boxing

Iran has entered one boxer to compete in the men's light heavyweight division into the Olympic boxing tournament. 2012 Olympian Ehsan Rouzbahani was the only Iranian finishing among the top two of his respective division in the AIBA Pro Boxing series.


Canoeing


Sprint

Iran has received a spare berth from the
International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...
to enter a boat in the men's C-1 200 m to the Olympics, as the next highest-ranked nation, not yet qualified, at the 2015 Canoe Sprint World Championships, and as a response to the forfeiture of five boats held by the Russians due to their previous doping bans and their implications in the "disappearing positive methodology" set out in the McClaren Report on Russia's state-sponsored doping. Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)


Cycling


Road

Iranian riders qualified for a maximum of three quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 4 national ranking in the 2015 UCI Asia Tour.


Fencing

Following the completion of the Grand Prix finals, Iran has entered two fencers into the Olympic competition. Sabre fencers Ali Pakdaman and 2012 Olympian Mojtaba Abedini had claimed their spots on the Iranian team by finishing among the top 14 individuals in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings.


Judo

Iran has qualified three judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. London 2012 Olympian
Javad Mahjoub Javad Mahjoub ( fa, جواد محجوب, born 26 May 1991 in Chenaran, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran) is an Iranian judoka. He competed for Iran at the following tournaments: * 2010 Asian Games, 7th * 2011 World Judo Championships, Quarter-f ...
was ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while Alireza Khojasteh at men's half-lightweight (66 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the Asian region, as the highest-ranked Iranian judoka outside of direct qualifying position. Khojasteh subsequently withdrew from the Olympics before the opening ceremony.


Rowing

Iran has qualified one boat in the women's single sculls for the Olympics at the 2016 Asia & Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta in
Chungju Chungju (충주시) is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, former UN Secretary-G ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage


Shooting

Iranian shooters have achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the 2015 ISSF World Cup series, and Asian Championships, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)


Swimming

Iran has received an Universality invitation from
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
to send a male swimmer to the Olympics.


Table tennis

Iran has entered three athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games.
Nima Alamian Nima Alamian (born 24 December 1992 in Babol«مصاحبه ...
and 2012 Olympian Neda Shahsavari secured the Olympic spot each in the men's and women's singles as the highest-ranked table tennis player coming from the Middle Asia zone, while Nima's elder brother
Noshad Alamian Noshad Alamiyan Darounkolaei ( fa, نوشاد عالمیان درونكلایی, born 21 November 1991 in Babol) is an Iranian table tennis player. Noshad Alamiyan made a breakthrough at 2008 ITTF World Junior Championships held in Madrid, Spai ...
scored a second-stage victory to take the remaining spot on the Iranian team at the Asian Qualification Tournament in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.


Taekwondo

Iran entered four athletes into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics.
Farzan Ashourzadeh Farzan Ashourzadeh Fallah ( fa, فرزان عاشورزاده فلاح, born November 25, 1996 in Tonekabon, Mazandaran, Iran) is an Iranian taekwondo practitioner. He won the gold medal in the flyweight division (-58 kg) at the 2014 Asian ...
,
Mehdi Khodabakhshi Mehdi Khodabakhshi ( fa, مهدی خدابخشی, sr-cyr, Махди Ходабахши; born April 21, 1991, in Tonekabon, Iran) is an Iranian-born Serbian Taekwondo practitioner. He was two times world champion, in 2014 and in 2022. Career ...
, and
Sajjad Mardani Sajjad Mardani ( fa, سجاد مردانی, born 1 July 1988 in Shahrekord, 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 ...
qualified automatically for their respective weight classes by finishing in the top 6 WTF Olympic rankings. Meanwhile,
Kimia Alizadeh Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi ( fa, کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی, Kīmiyā Alīzādeh Zonūzī; born 10 July 1998) is an Iranian Taekwondo athlete. Alizadeh won a bronze medal in the taekwondo 57 kg weight class at the 2016 Summer Olympics ...
was the only Iranian female finishing among the top two in the women's lightweight category (57 kg) at the 2016 Asian Qualification Tournament in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
.


Volleyball


Indoor


Men's tournament

Iran men's volleyball team qualified for the Olympics by picking up the continental spot as the highest-ranked Asian team at the first meet of the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal


Weightlifting

Iranian weightlifters have qualified five men's quota places for the Rio Olympics based on their combined team standing by points at the
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and 2015 IWF World Championships. The team must allocate these places to individual athletes by June 20, 2016.


Wrestling

Iran has qualified a total of twelve wrestlers for each the following weight classes into the Olympic competition. Majority of Olympic berths were awarded to Iranian wrestlers, who finished among the top six at the 2015 World Championships, while two other wrestlers progressed to the top two finals to book Olympic spots each in the men's freestyle 130 kg and men's Greco-Roman 66 kg at the 2016 Asian Qualification Tournament. Two further wrestlers had claimed the remaining Olympic slots to round out the Iranian roster in separate World Qualification Tournaments; one of them in men's Greco Roman 120 kg at the
initial In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...
meet in
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
, and the other in men's Greco-Roman 59 kg at the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
meet in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. ;Men's freestyle ;Men's Greco-Roman


Referees and Officials

Among the Iranian representatives in Rio 2016 Olympics,
Alireza Faghani Alireza Faghani ( fa, عليرضا فغانى; born 21 March 1978) is an Iranian international football referee who has been officiating in the Persian Gulf Pro League for several seasons and has been on the FIFA list since 2008. Faghani has ref ...
, Reza Sokhandan and Mohammadreza Mansouri were the
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
referees, and Iman Farzin appointed as the only Iranian official in Press Operations for
Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
Games.


See also

*
Iran at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Iran competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. Competitors Medalists , width="77%" align="right" valign="top" , , width="23%" align="left" valign="top" , The death of ...


References


External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Iran, Olympics
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
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Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics