Iman Mahdavi

Iman Mahdavi was born on 12 February 1995, in Iran along the Caspian Sea.{{Cite web |title=Mahdavi Iman |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/iman-mahdavi_1894549 |access-date=29 July 2024 |website=Paris 2024 Olympics |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}{{Cite web |title=Iman Mahdavi |url=https://olympics.com/en/athletes/iman-mahdavi |access-date=29 July 2024 |website=International Olympic Committee}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Della Penna |first=Silvia |date=19 June 2024 |title=Iman Mahdavi: "I decided to persue my dreams outside my homeland" |url=https://zetaluiss.it/2024/06/19/imanmahdavieng/ |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Zeta |publisher=Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli}} Mahdavi became a seven-time national junior champion.

Mahdavi's father later died of a heart attack after being wrongly informed his son had died in a traffic collision.{{Cite news |date=16 July 2024 |title=Correction: Refugee Team story |url=https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/they-fled-from-their-home-countries-now-they-ll-19567128.php |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Times Union}}

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.{{Cite news |date=3 April 2024 |title=کشتی‌گیر ایرانی در چند قدمی المپیک پاریس ۲۰۲۴؛ از پناهندگی در ایتالیا تا تمرین و آشپزی |trans-title=The Iranian wrestler is a few steps away from the 2024 Paris Olympics; From asylum in Italy to training and cooking |url=https://parsi.euronews.com/2024/03/04/iman-mahdavi-refugee-gym-near-milan-provides-olympics-wrestling-launchpad |access-date=29 July 2024 |work=Euronews |language=fa}}{{Cite news |date=2 May 2024 |title=Valizadeh, Mahdavi named in IOC Refugee Team for 2024 Paris Olympics |url=https://uww.org/article/valizadeh-mahdavi-named-ioc-refugee-team-2024-paris-olympics |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=United World Wrestling |location=Lausanne, Switzerland}} He did not originally know his flight's destination,{{Cite AV media |url=https://watch.yurview.com/videos/iman-mahdavi-count-down-to-paris |title=Iman Mahdavi |type=Video |publisher=YurView |series=Countdown to Paris |access-date=30 July 2024}} saying later in an interview, "Luckily for me, it was Italy."

After arriving in Italy, Mahdavi began training at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym in Pioltello,{{Cite news |date=2 May 2024 |title=Refugee Team for Paris Olympics has 36 athletes from 11 countries across 12 sports |url=https://apnews.com/article/refugee-team-paris-olympics-4ed32361a6f410e0a80e9b0645c97c38 |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=Associated Press |location=Lausanne, Switzerland}} 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. The coaches at the gym quickly noticed Mahdavi's advanced technique and strength, which prompted them to train him for competitions.

Mahdavi has participated in the following competitions during his wrestling career:{{Cite web |title=Mahdavi, Iman (UWW) |url=https://whatsmat.uww.org/daten.php?spid=1EDF08E702424608965B85B767A1EA8F |access-date=30 July 2024 |website=International Wrestling Database |publisher=United World Wrestling}}

Mahdavi plans to move to Moldova to intensify his training, and he aims to open a sports club to teach wrestling techniques to younger people.{{Cite news |last=Nischal |first=Schwager-Patel |date=3 August 2024 |title=Paris 2024 Olympics: Iman Mahdavi aims to follow in wrestling father's footsteps and inspire 100 million refugees |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/iman-mahdavi-exclusive-emulating-wrestling-father-creating-legacy-100-million-refugees |access-date=6 August 2024 |work=Paris 2024 Olympics |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}

{{See also|Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Summer Olympics}}

On 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. He had the Olympic rings tattooed on his ribcage with the text "Paris 2024" below.

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.{{Cite news |last=Smolinski |first=Paulina |date=26 July 2024 |title=What is the IOC refugee Olympic team and who is on it for the 2024 Games? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/olympic-refugee-team-2024/ |access-date=6 August 2024 |work=CBS News}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Biography|Olympic Games|Iran}}

• {{Olympics.com profile|iman-mahdavi|Iman Mahdavi}}
• {{IWD|1EDF08E702424608965B85B767A1EA8F|Iman Mahdavi}}

{{List of Iranian refugee and immigrant athletes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdavi, Iman}}

Category:Living people

Category:1995 births

Category:Refugees in Italy

Category:Iranian refugees

Category:Iranian male sport wrestlers

Category:Iranian emigrants to Italy

Category:Sportspeople of Iranian descent

Category:Wrestlers at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:21st-century Iranian sportsmen