Kianoush Rostami Wins Iran's 16th Olympic Gold Medal in History

Kianoush Rostami, the Iranian weightlifter in the 85 kg category, won the Olympic championship by setting a record of 396 kg. Rostami now holds the world and Olympic records in the clean and jerk and total categories. Tian Tao from China came in second with 395 kg, while Gabriel Sincraian from Romania secured the bronze medal. Representatives from Kazakhstan and Ukraine placed in the following ranks. Rostami competed for the gold medal on the seventh day of the Olympics against 10 weightlifters. He recorded 179 kg in the snatch and 217 kg in the clean and jerk, becoming the Olympic record holder in the clean and jerk and total. This is the 16th Olympic gold medal in the history of Iranian sports, following Imam Ali Habibi, Gholamreza Takhti, Abdollah Mohammadi, Mohammad Nasiri, Rasoul Khadem, Alireza Dabir, Hossein Rezazadeh (twice), Hossein Torkeli, Hadi Saei (twice), Hamid Sourian, Omid Noroozi, Ghasem Razaei, and Behdad Salimi. Rostami went on the platform three times in the snatch, succeeding in two attempts. In his first attempt, he lifted 174 kg with ease. Kazakhstan's Denis Olanov began his first attempt with 170 kg, while Tian Tao dropped 173 kg in his first attempt. Olanov missed 175 kg in his second attempt but managed to lift it in his final attempt. Tao needed to lift 178 kg in his second attempt but failed. He came back for his third attempt on the verge of elimination but successfully lifted 178 kg. Rostami lifted 179 kg for the second time and dropped 182 kg in his final attempt, securing first place in the snatch with 179 kg. This advantage allowed him to approach the clean and jerk with higher confidence. Bijan Maghlo and Mehdi Bibak, coaches of the national taekwondo team, witnessed Kianoush Rostami's competition in the weightlifting hall. Shahin Nasirinia, an Iranian coach for the U.S. team, was also present, along with several athletes from the Iranian delegation. Interestingly, Ali Moradi, the president of the Weightlifting Federation, took charge of Kianoush Rostami's coaching, and at Rostami's request, the national team's head coach did not coach him! In the clean and jerk, Tian Tao failed to lift the first weight of 210 kg. In his second attempt at 210 kg, he again failed, putting him on the brink of elimination. Kazakhstan's Denis Olanov lifted 215 kg in his third attempt, totaling 390 kg. Rostami stood behind the 215 kg weight, which is an Olympic record, but could not lift it. However, when he came back for his second attempt at 215 kg, he succeeded. Then, Tao lifted 217 kg and recorded a total of 395 kg. Now, if Kianoush wanted gold, he had to lift 217 kg. He came on the platform and lifted this weight, securing the Olympic gold medal with a total of 396 kg. Thus, Iran entered the medal table with one gold medal. In the coming days, the Iranian sports delegation has a chance to increase its gold medals in the same sport, as well as in wrestling and taekwondo.