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Story of 52 Years
Gholam-Reza Takhti, Imam-Ali Habibi, Abdollah Movahed,
Mohammad Nassiri and Rasoul Khadem are the golden names of Iran through eleven Olympic
appearances
The Olympic Games
spent their first 52 years without Iran. By the time Iran joined the Olympic Games in
London 1948, Asian countries namely Japan, Korea,
India and Afghanistan had already been recognized by the Olympic Movement. Based on
certain rules, Iran first became a member in different sports federations before being
registered as a member of the International Olympic Committee.
The new round of the Olympic Games were staged on Monday, April 6, 1896. That was only
thirteen days before Mirza Reza Kermani shot the Iranian ruler Nasser-edin Shah to death.
This simple fact indicates just how involved were the Iranians of those days with anything
but the Olympic Games. Then, the most popular sports activities in Iran were those
practiced in “zoorkhaneh”, a traditional gym where men added to their strength
and trained for wrestling. There was a limit to the social class of wrestlers who ended up
serving wealthy masters and experienced the hardest times when they were too old to serve
any practical purpose.
A review of the mentality and social knowledge of athletes trained in zoorkhaneh
demonstrates that a few of them sympathized with public movements. A smaller number even
joined the public in an uprising against the Kazakh Colonel Liakhov.
All in all, the modern Olympic Games were 52 years old when Iran joined in, and now 52
years after their first participation, Iranian athletes appear in Sydney 2000.
Young and inexperienced, Iranian sportsmen saw London in 1948. That was only a few years
after the World War II and many nations had to get along with rations. London still
carried the scars of war.
Although the Iranian teams were far from knowing how to get into the best shape for such
tough competitions, but they came back with the greatest gift: a bronze medal won by
weightlifter Jafar Salmasi in the feather weight category. Salmasi lifted a total of 312.5
kg and beat the records with 100 kg in the press lift. That first medal was an eye-opener,
a loud cry that we can if we want. Iranians believed that a careful preparation could take
them to the top. That was possible.
From London 1948 to Atlanta 1996, Iran participated in 11 Olympic series while refusing to
participate in Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984. Some extraordinary talents represented
Iran in different Olympic series. They exerted extraordinary efforts to make extraordinary
accomplishments. Gholam-Reza Takhti, Imam-Ali Habibi, Abdollah Movahed, Mohammad Nassiri
and Rasoul Khadem were the brilliant wrestlers and weightlifters that Iran sent to the
Olympic Games. None of their golden achievements came easy: Takhti climbed the platform
with bruised eyes, Habibi was burning in fever before two weeks of hospitalization in
Melbourne when he beat the Japanese and Soviet wrestlers, Nassiri lifted a total of 367.5
kg to set a new world record in the bantam weight category, Movahed showed an
unforgettable intelligence in seven fights that took him to the first title in Mexico
City, Khadem had to overcome the gold medallist of Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 to win
the gold medal of the last Olympic Games in the second millennium. They were the aces of
Iran’s sports.
In addition, there were other athletes who deserved nothing less than the best but had to
be content with silver and bronze medals in the Olympic Games. Iran and Iranians
appreciate the endeavors of all those who took the name of Iran higher in global
competitions. |
