TEHRAN – Iran finished 21st on the table in the Paris Olympics and their total tally of 12 medals, while the United States topped the medals table at the Paris Olympics with 40 golds after the final title was decided on Sunday, finishing above China only by virtue of their 44 silvers.
China, who were the last team apart from the U.S. to top the standings when they did it on home soil at the 2008 Beijing Games, also won 40 golds but managed only 27 silvers.
The U.S. women’s basketball team secured their country’s pre-eminence by edging host nation France in a breathless finish to win the final gold of the Games. The U.S. also won most total medals with 126 to China’s 91.
Japan ranked in third place with 20 golds, the same position they finished in 2021 in Tokyo. Australia, who enjoyed their best-ever medal haul, finished fourth with 18 golds. 
Host France were fifth with 16 golds, their best result since they topped the table in 1900, when Paris also hosted the Games. 

Amouzad’s Quest for Olympic Glory Ends With Silver

Iranian freestyle wrestlers Rahman Amouzad Khalili secured silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday, bringing Iran’s final tally to 12 medals.

Amouzad, 22, put up a valiant fight against his Japanese opponent, Kotaro Kiyooka, in the gold-medal match of the men’s 65kg category, and ultimately settled for silver.

The former junior world freestyle champion advanced to the title clash on Sunday with an impeccable record, having won his previous three bouts without conceding a point—8-0, 11-0, and 10-0 respectively.

Amouzad began his Paris Olympic campaign on Saturday with an 8-0 victory over Zain Allen Retherford of the U.S., followed by a dominant 11-0 win against European champion Islam Dudaev from Albania.

In the semifinals, he overwhelmed former world and European champion Ismail Musukaev of Hungary with another convincing 10-0 victory to secure his place in the gold-medal match.

 

Azarpira Snatches Bronze Medal

Freestyle wrestler Amirali Azarpira, in 97 kg, snatched a bronze medal in 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday. Amirali defeated his American rival Kyle Snyder 4-1.

Azarpira, who initially lost his first bout to world champion Akhmed Tazhudidov of Bahrain 3-4 on Saturday, secured another chance through the repechage after Tazhudidov advanced to the final.

On Sunday, he defeated Alisher Yergali of Kazakhstan 6-1 before facing former world and Olympic champion Kyle Snyder of the U.S. in the 97kg bronze medal match.

In a nail-biting encounter, the 22-year-old former U-23 gold medalist triumphed over his celebrated American opponent with a final score of 4-1, earning a bronze medal for Iran.

Azarpira’s bronze brought Iran’s overall medal count at the Paris Olympics to 12—three golds, six silvers, and three bronzes—placing the nation in 21st position at the time of this report.

 

Arian Salimi Clinches Gold in Taekwondo

Arian Salimi comes from behind to defeat his British opponent Caden Cunningham 2-1 in the men’s taekwondo +80-kg final to clinch a gold medal, third for Iran at the Paris Olympics.

The 20-year-old lost the first round to Cunningham before trouncing his opponent in two breathtaking subsequent rounds.

The run-up match had seen Salimi defeating former taekwondo world champion Ivan Šapina from Croatia 2-1 to advance to the final.

President Masoud Pezeshkian felicitated Salimi on the occasion in a post on the X social media platform, praising his “powerfully-achieved” gold medal, and commending him for enlightening the hearts of the nation. Majlis (Parliament) speaker Muhammad Bagher Qalibaf also congratulated the athlete in a similar post, calling him an “indefatigable” sportsman.

Salimi’s epic triumph came 16 years after Hadi Saei, former taekwondoka and the current head of the Iranian Taekwondo Federation, bagged a gold for the Islamic Republic in Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Salimi’s victory also helped the country break its taekwondo Olympic performance.

Earlier in the games, Iran’s Mehran Barkhordari and Nahid Kiani had snatched two silvers for the country, while Mobina Nematzadeh had earned a bronze.

This is the best the country’s taekwondokas have performed since bagging a gold and a silver in Athens Olympics in 2004.

Including Salimi’s gold, Iranian athletes have so far earned 10 medals for the country, namely three golds, five silvers, and two bronzes.

 

Zare Bags Freestyle Olympic Silver

 

Freestyle wrestler Amir Hossein Zare has displayed his captivating skills and athletic prowess at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, snatching a silver medal and raising Iran’s medal tally in the prestigious multinational event.

Zare narrowly lost to Georgian counterpart Geno Petriashvili 9-10 in the finale of men’s 125-kilogram weight division at Grand Palais Éphémère in Champ de Mars of the French capital on Saturday evening.

The 23-year-old Iranian sportsman started his campaign with a 5-0 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Aiaal Lazarev in his first contest.

He then overcame Canadian opponent Amar Dhesi 10-0 in the quarterfinals, before triumphing over Taha Akgül 2-1 in the semifinal. The Turkish wrestler had snatched a gold medal at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Zare won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The only time Iran won more Olympic medals was at the London 2012 Olympics – 13 medals, which included 7 gold medals.

Iran was represented at the Paris 2024 Olympics by 40 athletes at the marquee sports event, including 29 men and 11 women, competing in 13 sports disciplines.

As in previous Olympic Games, wrestling and taekwondo brought Iran the majority of its medals.