News / Sports

Iran former weightlifting champion passes away at 91

Saturday, 25 July 2015 12:40 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 25 July 2015 12:40 PM ]

Late Iranian weightlifting champion Mir Rasoul Raeisi holds a picture of himself when he was a young athlete in this file photo. (ISNA photo)

Former Iranian weightlifting champion and the last remaining survivor of Iran’s sports delegation to the 1948 Summer Olympics, Mir Rasoul Ra’eesi, has passed away at the age of 91.

Ra’eesi, who was born on September 25, 1924 in the northwestern Iranian city of Ardabil, died at his home in the northern part of the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Thursday.

The weightlifter won a bronze medal in the 82.5-kilogram class at the 1949 Men’s World Weightlifting Championships in Scheveningen, the Netherlands.

Ra’eesi competed for the first time at the Summer Olympic Games during the 14th edition of the sporting event in London, England.

He collected a gold medal in the men’s 90-kilogram category at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India.

Ra’eesi’s funeral ceremony was held at Tehran’s Tajrish neighborhood on Saturday morning. He was laid to rest at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in western Tehran later in the day.

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