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Paris Paralympics:
Iran’s Gharibshahi wins powerlifting gold; Beit Sayyah stripped of javelin prize
A gold medalist in last year’s World Championships and Asian Para Games, the Iranian began his quest for a third major medal in 12 months with a successful 247kg lift in La Chapelle Arena – a new high in the sporting extravaganza.
He then went on to shatter the Paralympic record for a second time when he overcame the 252kg weight, but failed to lift 261kg in his final attempt – which would have seen him better the world record, set by himself in 2022, by one kilogram.
The tally was still enough for Gharibshahi to finish four kilograms clear of Mongolian silver medalist Enkhbayaryn Sodnompiljee, who had won the Paralympic gold in Tokyo three years ago but settled for a runner-up spot behind the Iranian in the two major events last year.
Mexican Jose de Jesus Castillo took the bronze with 222kg.
“The world and Asian Games records belong to me and I’m thrilled to have also smashed the Paralympic record. I was a bit nervous to compete in the morning session, but my coaches helped me pick the right weights and win the gold,” said the Iranian.
“I worked hard for years to win the Paralympic gold, I was omitted from the national squad on several occasions but never backed off to fulfil this achievement,” added Gharibshahi, who missed out on a place in the Iranian squad in Tokyo.
This was a third powerlifting medal for Iran in Paris.
Rouhollah Rostami had won the men’s -80kg gold in emphatic fashion, thanks to world record-breaking lift of 242kg on Friday, while Mohsen Bakhtiar had to settle for the bronze in a closely-contested -59kg event, where the top three were separated by just four kilograms.
Celebration caught short
On Saturday, Iranian Sadegh Beit Sayyah smashed the Paralympic record to win a javelin throw gold, only to be stripped of the medal over what was deemed a violation of the Games’ code of conduct.
Representing the country in the event’s F41 class, the Iranian thought he had improved on his Paralympic silver in Tokyo with a best effort of 47.64m in his penultimate attempt, but received a yellow card for his controversial celebration following his record-breaking throw.
He then went on the wave a religious flag after clinching the gold, but his jubilation was short-lived after he was handed a second caution and, hence, disqualified as his action was against Rule 8.1 of the World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations (Code of Conduct and Ethics).
The flag bore the name of Umm ul-Baneen (PBUH) – the wife of Imam Ali (PBUH), the first Shia Imam, and the mother of Abolfazl (PBUH).
The decision came “due to a breach of rules pertaining to unsporting or improper conduct,” the official website of the International Olympic Committee wrote.
“World Para Athletics (WPA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and conduct in the sport of Para athletics. All participants in the sport, including athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators, have a responsibility to uphold these standards and ensure that the sport is conducted in a fair, honest, and transparent manner,” read the regulations of the international governing body of the sport.
“I displayed the same flag [after winning the silver medal] in the Tokyo Games but there was no problem there,” Beit Sayyah said.
The Iranian officials issued a complaint to the decision twice as they believed the athlete used the flag out of “his religious belief”, but the protest was rejected on both occasions by the organizers.
Indian Navdeep Singh, who had finished second to Beit Sayyah with 47.32m, had his silver medal upgraded to gold, with Chinese Sun Pengxiang and Iraqi Nukhailawi Wildan taking the silver and bronze medals respectively.
There was still a bit of consolation for Iran in Stade de France on Saturday, as Elham Salehi won a bronze medal to take the country’s medal haul in the athletics event to 12.
The Iranian registered a best effort of 16.24m in her final attempt to finish third to Uzbekistan’s Nurkhon (21.12m) and Flora Ugwunwa (19.26m) of Nigeria in the women’s javelin throw F54 competition.