Iranian wrestler receives Olympic gold 10 years after London Games

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An Iranian wrestler, who originally won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London, was awarded the gold medal on Thursday after positive doping tests disqualified the top two, the agency said on Friday. Iranian official agency. 

“Komeil Ghasemi officially received his gold medal in the men's 120kg freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and became the most decorated heavyweight wrestler in Iranian history,” IRNA reported.

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year sent a letter to the Committee Iranian Olympic Games informing him of his decision following a doping investigation into Uzbek Artur Taymazov and Georgian Davit Modzmanashvili,” the agency added.

“It's a good and beautiful sensation,” Ghasemi said at the official ceremony in Tehran, adding that “the Olympic gold medal is what every athlete desires.”

The weight s Iranian heavyweight is not the only one to have received a posteriori gold medal in this category, it is also the case of the Russian Bilyal Makhov, who initially won bronze like Ghasemi.

The Russian wrestler himself was suspended in September 2021 for a period of four years, with retroactive effect until January 2024, after testing positive for a banned substance.

Born in the province of Mazandaran in northern Iran, Ghasemi, 34 years old like Makhov, won gold at the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships and four silver medals at major international tournaments.