‘Fifteen years in the making’:
Aminzadeh revels in coveted Paralympic gold
Powerlifter Ahmad Aminzadeh was thrilled to see “years of hard work” pay off as the Iranian walked away with the last gold medal up for grabs at the Paris Paralympics.
Aminzadeh bagged a third powerlifting gold for the country in the French capital’s La Chapelle Arena on Sunday, finishing atop the podium in the men’s +107kg contests.
Also a gold medalist in last year’s Asian Para Games, the Iranian began his campaign with a 253kg lift and then went on to register 258kg and 263kg efforts to finish 12 kilograms clear of Ukrainian silver medalist Anton Kriukov, with Akaki Jintcharadze of Georgia taking the bronze with 250kg.
“This gold medal was 15 years in the making. I have been through a lot to get to this point. Thank God all those years of hard work and dedication were worth it,” an emotional Aminzadeh said.
“I suffered an injury in the chest area during a training session in Paris and I have to thank [team physician] Dr. Barati, as well as my coaches Hossein Tavakkoli and Ahmad Mollahosseini for helping me make it to the event,” added the Iranian, who also grabbed the gold in the 2021 World Championships.
“My personal best is 280 kilograms and I won the gold in March’s World Cup in the UAE by a 25kg margin. I’m sure I would have repeated my records, had it not been for the untimely injury. I’m still grateful to have landed the gold,” said Aminzadeh, dedicating his medal to “the great people of my country who deserve the best.”
Aminzadeh’s superheavyweight gold in the Paralympics was a first won by an Iranian since 2016, when late powerlifting legend Siamand Rahman lifted a remarkable 310kg – a world record intact to date – in Rio de Janeiro.
“There have been some great Iranians in Kazem Rajabi, Siamand Rahman, and Mansour Pourmirzaei in the class over the previous Paralympics and I’m glad to bring the superheavyweight crown to the country again,” added Aminzadeh.
Record haul
Aminzadeh’s triumph, coupled with fellow-powerlifter Aliakbar Gharibshahi’s gold earlier on the final day of the Games, rounded off the sporting extravaganza for Iran with 25 medals – an all-time high for the country since the first participation in Seoul 1988.
Joining the two powerlifters in winning a gold medal for Iran over 11 days of action were Rouhollah Rostami, also a powerlifting champion in the -80kg class, shooting sensation Sareh Javanmardi, who won a third successive women’s 10m air pistol title, as well as Saeid Afrooz (men’s javelin throw F34), Yassin Khosravi (men’s shot put F57), Amirhossein Alipour (men’s shot put F11), and the men’s sitting volleyball team, which won a magnificent eighth crown, as Iran finished 14th in the overall medals table – dropping by a spot from the previous Games in Tokyo, where the Iranians won 12 gold medals.
The para athletics event was again the most productive one for Iran with 12 medals, including three golds, though the number would have been even better, had Sadegh Beit Sayyah not been stripped of the javelin throw F41 gold for celebrating with a religious flag, which was deemed a violation of the Games’ code of conduct.
Zahra Rahimi (taekwondo, women’s 52kg), Parastoo Habibi (women’s club throw F32), Fatemeh Hemmati (women’s individual compound open) won silver medals in their respective events – with the latter also part of the silver-winning mixed duo in the team compound contest – and Elham Salehi won a javelin throw F54 bronze as the girls took credit for seven of Iran’s medals in the French capital.