- Hossein Rezazadeh
Hossein Rezazadeh (PerB| حسین رضازاده , born
May 12 ,1978 inArdabil ,Iran ) is a formerIran ianweightlifter and the current world record holder in the sport.Career
Nicknamed "The Iranian Hercules", he currently holds the world records in weightlifting's super heavyweight class in the snatch,
clean and jerk and total. He is the first Iranian athlete to have won two Olympic gold medals. He is also one of Iran's most noted celebrities, frequently appearing on television and in the news; his wedding, which was held in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, in February of2003 was broadcast live on television in Iran.In 2002 he was voted the "Champion of Champions" of Iran and was one of 16 Iranian athletes granted a badge of courage from Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami . As a reward for setting a world record at the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships inVancouver ,Canada , Mohammad Khatami awarded him 600 millionrial s (a little more than 60,000 USD) to buy a house inTehran . After his spectacular performance, he was offered byTurkey ’s Weightlifting Federation a stipend of US$20,000 a month, as well as a luxury villa and US$10 million reward if he switches nationalities and wins gold forTurkey at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but he turned down their offers. Rezazadeh rejected the tempting offer saying, "I am an Iranian and love my country and people." [cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/2004/aug/24oly-lift1.htm |title=World's strongest man ready for more |accessdate=2007-12-01 |year=2007 |publisher=Rediff.com ]He surprised many at the
2000 Summer Olympics , earning a gold medal and breaking the decades-old monopoly on the gold by theSoviet Union and thenRussia . His gold medal was the first since1960 by a non-Soviet or non-Russia n athlete in the over 105kg class at a non boycotted Games. He has since broken his own records on a number of occasions leading up to his world record 263.5 kg (580.9 pounds) lift in theclean and jerk at the2004 Summer Olympics . His total (both lifts combined) at the2004 Summer Olympics of 472.5 kg was 17.5 kg more than silver medalistViktors Scerbatihs . He is the current IWF World Weightlifter of the Year, and was shortlisted for weightlifter of the century.Rezazadeh's supremacy in the superheavyweight class has been virtually unchallenged in recent years. However, although he had not been pushed hard during his career, he was in pursuit of the all-time best IWF marks of 216 kg snatch (
Antonio Krastev ,1987 ), 266 kg clean and jerk (Leonid Taranenko ,1988 ), and 475 kg total (Taranenko, 1988). Even though they exceed Rezazadeh's marks, these lifts are no longer the official world records due to the IWF's restructuring of weight classes, but they still remain as the heaviest weights lifted.Rezazadeh is also referred to by weightlifting commentators as "the strongest man in the world", primarily due to his world records in the olympics.
In
2006 the Rezazadeh Stadium was built in Rezazadeh's hometown ofArdabil . It was built to honour the achievements of Rezazadeh and is one of the most modern and innovative indoor arenas inIran today.In early
2008 Rezazadeh participated in a television commercial promoting a real estate agency based in Dubai. His participation surprised many of his fans and was seen as demeaning to both himself and his country, given the promotion of buying estates in a land deemed as a rival. This eventually led to the decision of the Iranian Majles to ban any sort of sponsorship from any high profile Iranian - i.e. athlete, actor, singer - for any sort of product or service, due to the direct encouragement of product consumerism.In
2008 , he was advised by physicians not to participate in2008 Olympics due to his severe hand injuries. To his fans' surprise and disappointment he officially announced in a letter read viaNational Iranian Television that he has accepted the advice. [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/sport/2008/07/2008724145844470332.html "Iran's 'Hercules' out of Games"] , Al Jazeera, July 24, 2008] The next day he wrote another public letter announcing his retirement from professional weightlifting. He said "I am pretty sure that my fellow country men will repeat my accomplishments again and I hope my son Abulfazl will break my own records in future".Right after his retirement he was appointed as the Prime Counselor for Iranian national weight lifting federation.Instead of him, young weightlifter
Rashid Sharifi took part in 2008 Olympics gaining no place among the winners.Rezazadeh's Controversies
When,Russian coach,Ivanof handed (now known to be of doping type) pills to Iranian weightlifters he avoided taking as if he knew the type of pills without informing others.He has also been criticized for connections to Iranian Conservative Government and using his name to enter
Islamic Azad University without passing the "Konkoor" exams. In 2004 Athens Olympics he lost most of his out-of-country fan base (mostly nationalist opposition groups) by displaying a picture of present Iranian Supreme Leader AyatollahKhamenei on stage after finishing first and this alone reduced his public image there to a so-called "Brainless Turk".He has been the subject of a vast amount of Persian jokes in recent years all attributing his strength to a special kind of bread named "Barbari" which Iranian Turks eat a lot or toHazrat Abulfazl whom he maintains a lot of respect,had his name typed on his suit in every single tournament and named his son in his honor.Statistics
Physical profile
Bodyweight: 156.6 kg (2004 Olympics)
Height: 6 foot 1 inch (1.86 metres)
His Coach is: Dr. Mohammad Ali Shahi
Career Bests
Clean and Jerk: 263.5 kg in Athens on August 25th, 2004; the current world record
Snatch: 213.0 kg in Qinhuangdao on September 14th, 2003; the current world record
Total: 472.0 kg (about 475
Sinclair Coefficients ) in Sydney on September 26th, 2000 ; the current world recordFront Squat: 340.0 kg
Back Squat: <400.0 kg
References
External links
* [http://www.weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=39&topic=1349.0#top Hossein Rezazadeh - Hall of Fame at Weightlifting Exchange]
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