Iranians bag 12 medals at World Para Athletics Championships
Iran rounded off the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris with 12 medals – including four golds.
The event also saw the Iranian athletes seal 16 quotas for next year’s Paralympic Games, also to be held in the French capital.
On Monday, Sajjad Mohammadian and Sadeq Beyt-Sayyah brought the curtain down on a medal-laden campaign for Iran by collecting a couple of silver medals.
Mohammadian registered a best throw of 14.38m to finish second in the men’s shot put F63 contest, while Beyt-Sayyah’s silver came in the men’s javelin throw F41 event, where he tallied 45.46m.
Mohammadian’s silver was a fifth medal for Iran in the men’s shot put competitions after Mehdi Olad, Rashid Masjedi, Yasin Khosravi and had all walked away with the ultimate prize of their respective classes – with Hadi Kaeidi settling for the F34 bronze.
A gold and silver medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics, Olad won the F11 gold with a 13.79m finish, with Masjedi’s 8.49m throw earning him the top prize in the F53 contest.
This was a second world medal for Olad in Paris, following a silver-winning run in the discus throw competitions.
Khosravi, meanwhile, trashed the world record with 16.01 en route to a top-spot finish in the F57 category.
Khosravi was not alone in breaking a word record for the Iranians in Paris as Saeid Afrooz’s new high of 40.27m saw the Paralympic champion claim the F34 gold in the men’s javelin throw.
Elsewhere in Paris, Ali Pirouj (men’s javelin throw – F13), Amir Khosravani (men’s long Jump – T12), and Elham Salehi (women’s javelin throw – F54) finished their campaigns with three silver medals.
Also a gold medalist in the Games in Tokyo, Hashemiyeh Motaqian left the French capital with a consolation bronze in the women’s javelin throw F56 event.
Iran finished 14th among 103 participating countries, which were represented by more than 1,200 athletes in Paris.
China dominated the medals table with 16 golds and silvers apiece, plus 14 bronzes, followed by Brazil, which collected 47 medals – including 14 golds.
The United States, the Great Britain, and Ukraine all won 10 golds, with the Americans finishing third courtesy of a higher number of silvers (14).