Iman Mahdavi (Persian: ایمان مهدوی; born 12 February 1995) is an Iranian freestyle wrestler who immigrated to Italy, and competed with the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | ایمان مهدوی | ||||||||
| Born | 12 February 1995 Iran | ||||||||
| Occupation | Freestyle wrestler | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||
Early life
editIman Mahdavi was born on 12 February 1995, in Iran along the Caspian Sea.[1][2] He grew up in the Mazandaran province. His father was a wrestler, which led to Mahdavi's involvement in the sport starting at the age of fifteen.[3] Mahdavi became a seven-time national junior champion.[4]
Mahdavi's father later died of a heart attack after being wrongly informed his son had died in a traffic collision.[5]
In October 2020, Mahdavi left Iran due to ongoing concerns of its government's treatment of human rights by walking across its border with Turkey. Twenty days later, in November, Mahdavi flew to Milan, Italy, where he applied for asylum.[3][6][7] He did not originally know his flight's destination,[4] saying later in an interview, "Luckily for me, it was Italy."[5]
Career
editAfter arriving in Italy, Mahdavi began training at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym in Pioltello,[8] which was recommended to him by a friend he made on Instagram. His coach there, Marco "Papi" Moroni, also helped him start a job as a bouncer at a nightclub.[5] The coaches at the gym quickly noticed Mahdavi's advanced technique and strength, which prompted them to train him for competitions.[4]
Mahdavi has participated in the following competitions during his wrestling career:[9]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | European Wrestling Championships | Zagreb, Croatia | 12th | Men's freestyle 79 kg | |
| City of Sassari Tournament | Sassari, Italy | 3rd | Men's freestyle 79 kg | [10] | |
| 2023 Poland Open | Warsaw, Poland | 5th | Men's freestyle 79 kg | The men's freestyle event is also known as the Wacław Ziółkowski Memorial. | |
| World Wrestling Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 18th | Men's freestyle 79 kg | ||
| 2024 | European Wrestling Championships | Bucharest, Romania | 12th | Men's freestyle 79 kg | |
| 2024 | 2024 Summer Olympics | Paris, France | 17th | Men's freestyle 74 kg | [11] |
Mahdavi plans to move to Moldova to intensify his training,[3] and he aims to open a sports club to teach wrestling techniques to younger people.[12]
2024 Summer Olympics
editOn 2 May 2024, Mahdavi was announced as one of thirty-six athletes who would join the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) in its participation at the 2024 Summer Olympics, particularly in the men's freestyle 74 kg event.[7] He had the Olympic rings tattooed on his ribcage with the text "Paris 2024" below.[12]
Refugee athletes like Mahdavi receive financial support to pay for training and participation in the Olympics from the Refugee Athletes Scholarship Program, which is managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation and funded by the Olympic Solidarity Initiative. Most of the athletes on the EOR are selected from this program.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Mahdavi Iman". Paris 2024 Olympics. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ "Iman Mahdavi". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Della Penna, Silvia (19 June 2024). "Iman Mahdavi: «I decided to persue my dreams outside my homeland»". Zeta. Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Iman Mahdavi (Video). Countdown to Paris. YurView. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Correction: Refugee Team story". Times Union. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "کشتیگیر ایرانی در چند قدمی المپیک پاریس ۲۰۲۴؛ از پناهندگی در ایتالیا تا تمرین و آشپزی" [The Iranian wrestler is a few steps away from the 2024 Paris Olympics; From asylum in Italy to training and cooking]. Euronews (in Persian). 3 April 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Valizadeh, Mahdavi named in IOC Refugee Team for 2024 Paris Olympics". United World Wrestling. Lausanne, Switzerland. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "Refugee Team for Paris Olympics has 36 athletes from 11 countries across 12 sports". Associated Press. Lausanne, Switzerland. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "Mahdavi, Iman (UWW)". International Wrestling Database. United World Wrestling. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "28th città di sassari international tournament" (PDF) (in Italian). United World Wrestling. p. 31. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "Schedule - Mens freestyle 74kg". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ a b Nischal, Schwager-Patel (3 August 2024). "Paris 2024 Olympics: Iman Mahdavi aims to follow in wrestling father's footsteps and inspire 100 million refugees". Paris 2024 Olympics. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Smolinski, Paulina (26 July 2024). "What is the IOC refugee Olympic team and who is on it for the 2024 Games?". CBS News. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
External links
edit
- Iman Mahdavi at Olympics.com
- Iman Mahdavi at the International Wrestling Database (alternate link)