Hossein Rezazadeh
Member of City Council of Tehran
In office
3 September 2013 – 22 August 2017
Personal details
Born (1978-05-12) 12 May 1978
Ardabil, Iran
Political partyFront of Islamic Revolution Stability
Sports career
Nationality Iranian
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight152 kg (335 lb)[1]
SportWeightlifting
Event+105 kg
Sports achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Snatch: 213 kg (2003)
  • Clean and jerk: 263.5 kg (2004, WR)
  • Total: 472.5 kg (2000)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2000 Sydney+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2004 Athens+105 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 Warsaw+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2003 Vancouver+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2005 Doha+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2006 Santo Domingo+105 kg
Bronze medal – third place1999 Athens+105 kg
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2002 Busan+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2006 Doha+105 kg
Bronze medal – third place1998 Bangkok+105 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place1999 Wuhan+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2003 Qinhuangdao+105 kg
Gold medal – first place2005 Dubai+105 kg

Hossein Rezazadeh (Persian: حسین رضازاده, born 12 May 1978) is an Iranian politician and retired weightlifter. Rezazadeh is a two-time Olympic champion, four-time World Weightlifting champion, and five-time Asian champion. Rezazadeh has won the Iran Sportsperson of the Year award four times, more than any other athlete in the country's history. Rezazadeh is widely considered one of the greatest weightlifters of all time.

Weightlifting career

Before the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories in 2018, he held the world record in weightlifting's super heavyweight class in the clean and jerk. 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 holy city of Mecca, in February 2003 was broadcast live on state television in Iran.[2]

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 in the clean and jerk at the 2002 World Weightlifting Championships in Warszawa, Poland, Mohammad Khatami awarded him 600 million rials (a little more than US$60,000 at the time) to buy a house in Tehran. After his spectacular performance, he was offered by Turkey’s Weightlifting Federation a stipend of US$20,000 a month, as well as a luxury villa and US$10 million reward if he switched nationalities and won gold for Turkey at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but he turned down their offer. Rezazadeh rejected the tempting offer saying, "I am an Iranian and love my country and people."[3][4]

Rezazadeh surprised many at the 2000 Summer Olympics, earning a gold medal and breaking the decades-old monopoly on the gold by the Soviet Union and then Russia. His gold medal was the first since 1960 by a non-Soviet or non-Russian athlete in the over 105 kg class at a non boycotted Games. He broke his records in the clean and jerk at the 2004 Summer Olympics again leading up to 263.5 kg (580.9 pounds). His total (both lifts combined) at the 2004 Summer Olympics of 472.5 kg was 17.5 kg more than silver medalist Viktors Ščerbatihs. He has been named IWF World Weightlifter of the Year, and was shortlisted for weightlifter of the century.

Rezazadeh was 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 of Ardabil. It was built to honour the achievements of Rezazadeh and is one of the most modern and innovative indoor arenas in Iran 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.[2]

In 2008, Rezazadeh was advised by Dr. Mohammad Ali Shahi, his physician and medical athletic trainer, not to participate in the 2008 Olympics due to his severe hand injuries and his high blood pressure. To his fans' surprise and disappointment he officially announced in a letter read via National Iranian Television that he had accepted the advice.[5] The next day Rezazdeh 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".

Immediately following his retirement Rezazdeh was appointed as the Prime Counselor for Iranian national weight lifting federation.

In September 2008, Rezazadeh was named manager and head coach of Iran's national weightlifting team.[6] In January 2009, he was blamed for positive results of the steroid tests of four Iranian weightlifters. Later on, one of the team members, Saeid Alihosseini accused him of using steroids in 2006.[7] Rezazadeh has publicly vowed to fight doping in weightlifting.[8]

Political career

Rezazadeh was elected as a member of City Council of Tehran in 2013 local elections.

Major result

[9][10]

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Result Rank 1 2 3 Result Rank
Olympic Games
2000Australia Sydney, Australia+105 kg205.0210.0212.5212.51250.0255.0260.0260.02472.51st place, gold medalist(s)
2004Greece Athens, Greece+105 kg200.0207.5210.0210.01250.0263.5263.5262.51472.5[a]1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships
1999Greece Athens, Greece+105 kg200.0200.0206.0205.02nd place, silver medalist(s)242.5252.5252.5242.55447.53rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2002Poland Warszawa, Poland+105 kg200.0205.0210.0210.01st place, gold medalist(s)252.5263.0—262.51st place, gold medalist(s)472.51st place, gold medalist(s)
2003Canada Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada+105 kg200.0207.5213.5207.52nd place, silver medalist(s)250.0263.5—250.01st place, gold medalist(s)457.51st place, gold medalist(s)
2005Qatar Doha, Qatar+105 kg2012052102102nd place, silver medalist(s)251263—2511st place, gold medalist(s)4611st place, gold medalist(s)
2006Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic+105 kg1962022062021st place, gold medalist(s)242246—2461st place, gold medalist(s)4481st place, gold medalist(s)
Asian Games
1998Thailand Bangkok, Thailand+105 kg187.5187.53227.5227.53415.03rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2002South Korea Busan, South Korea+105 kg190.0200.0—200.01240.0263.0—240.01440.01st place, gold medalist(s)
2006Qatar Doha, Qatar+105 kg1851901951951230——23014251st place, gold medalist(s)
Asian Championships
1999China Wuhan, China+105 kg200.0200.01st place, gold medalist(s)230.0230.01st place, gold medalist(s)430.01st place, gold medalist(s)
2003China Qinhuangdao, China+105 kg200.0213.0—212.51st place, gold medalist(s)250.0——250.01st place, gold medalist(s)462.51st place, gold medalist(s)
2005United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates+105 kg2002001st place, gold medalist(s)2602601st place, gold medalist(s)4601st place, gold medalist(s)
World Junior Championships
1998Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria+105 kg160.0170.0172.5170.06205.0210.0210.0————

World records

[11][12]

DisciplineResult (kg)LocationCompetitionDate
+105 kg
Snatch 206.0 Greece Athens World Championships 28 November 1999
Snatch 212.5 Australia Sydney Olympic Games 26 September 2000
Total 467.5 Australia Sydney Olympic Games 26 September 2000
Total 472.5 Australia Sydney Olympic Games 26 September 2000
Clean & jerk 263.0 Poland Warszawa World Championships 26 November 2002
Snatch 213.0 China Qinhuangdao Asian Championships 14 September 2003
Clean & jerk 263.5 Greece Athens Olympic Games 25 August 2004

Notes and references

  • a Before May 1, 2005, the totals in weightlifting were calculated by adding the result from the snatch and clean & jerk to the nearest 2.5 kg. This is why his 2004 Olympic performance adds up as 472.5 kg. 473.5 is not divisible by 2.5, thus it is rounded down to 472.5.[13]
  1. 1 2 "Hossein Rezazadeh". persian-fighters.com. Persian Fighters. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 Erdbrink, Thomas (2008-07-26). "Iran's Stars, Erased From the Billboards". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  3. ↑ "World's strongest man ready for more". Rediff.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  4. ↑ "Great Olympic Moments: Iranian weightlifter Hossein Rezazadeh dominates Sydney and Athens Games". www.telegraph.co.uk. 2012-07-06. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Iran's 'Hercules' out of Games". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Rezazadeh named weightlifting manager". Tehran Times. 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  7. ↑ ""سارانداليف" به جاي رضازاده تست داد". ISNA. 2010-01-26. Archived from the original on 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  8. ↑ "Rezazadeh vows to fight doping". 20 December 2009.
  9. ↑ "Rezazadeh Hossein (IRI)". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  10. ↑ "2004 Summer Olympics: +105 kg Men". Archived from the original on 2018-07-09. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  11. ↑ "IWF annual book 2007" (PDF). International Weightlifting Federation.
  12. ↑ "World records: current". International Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  13. ↑ "IWF News May 1st 2005". IWF.net. Archived from the original on 2005-05-26. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
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