The Death of Jabbar Mahdiyoun; Iran's First Sports Refugee After the Revolution

Jabbar Mahdiyoun, the Asian freestyle wrestling champion who is known as "the first sports refugee of Iran" following the revolution, has passed away. In 1979, he won the championship at the first Asian freestyle wrestling championship held in India. In 1981, he achieved a silver medal at the Asian Championships hosted in Lahore. The Iranian team's journey to that competition was eventful; during a market visit in Dubai, a physical altercation occurred between Jabbar and an individual who was reportedly Iraqi, leading to the team being detained by police for three hours. The book "Starry Sky" published by the Islamic Revolution Document Center recounts the incident: "The individual attacked Mahdiyoun over a picture of Imam on his chest, but Mahdiyoun knocked him down with a solid punch, leading to the police arresting him and referee Alireza Razi. Maziarpour said either release him or arrest the whole team. They were all taken to the police station." Jabbar mentioned that he was very religious and had a fervently revolutionary spirit back then, regularly attending mosques and religious gatherings. He trained with Akbar Nategh Nouri in the wrestling gym. However, shortly after, the young wrestler's political views shifted, putting him on a different path from the Islamic Revolution. In 1982, during the Edmonton World Championships, Mahdiyoun completed his matches but did not return to the hotel. The national team wrestlers were worried and waited for their 82 kg representative, only to suddenly see him being interviewed by Canadian television. Panic replaced their concern as the early revolutionary years were tumultuous, and they were unsure of what had happened and what would occur upon their return. Mahdiyoun later stated that other wrestlers on the team were also considering staying. Following his escape in Edmonton, a heated exchange occurred between a reporter from the Islamic Republic newspaper and Mohammad Khorrami, the then president of the wrestling federation. The defection of a national athlete and its coverage in global media was considered a "blow to the revolution's reputation." The next morning, in what seemed to be a reaction to Jabbar's escape and a message to Tehran, Amir Tehrani, a 52 kg wrestler, repeatedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" on the mat. Edmonton remains the only world championship in the history of Iranian freestyle wrestling where the team returned empty-handed without a medal and without their 82 kg wrestler. Jabbar stayed in Canada for 28 years, wrestled, became a coach, and even took responsibility for the sport in Quebec. He mentioned that he also attended university and studied psychology. He had completely distanced himself from the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, which had facilitated his stay in Canada. He stated that during a Q&A session at an organizational event in Paris, he told several other athletes who were members of the organization that they had deceived him and wasted his youth. From that point on, he severed all ties and returned to Canada. Eleven years after the Edmonton World Championships, Canada hosted the world championships again, this time in Toronto, where Mahdiyoun had a role in organizing the events. Mohammad Khadem, the national team coach, told him that Akbar Turkkan, the president of the federation, wanted to see him. Turkkan, who is now a senior advisor to the president, promised, "I will try to get you back to Iran," but according to Mahdiyoun, after that team returned to Tehran, he was not contacted. About two more decades passed, and Jabbar finally returned to his country, now ill, with white hair and bitter stories from 28 years of exile. In an interview with the Wrestling World magazine, he said, "The security agencies in Zanjan cooperated with me to the utmost, but I had nowhere to go in Zanjan. My house, land, and shop had been confiscated. I went to Anzali port." He went to Anzali, settled there, and passed away in that city. Despite the news being published on social media, there was no coverage in domestic media during the two days following the announcement of his death, and at the time of writing this report, even the official website of the wrestling federation had not published the news.