Iran at the Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Iran at the Olympics
IOC code	IRI
NOC	National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Website
Medals Ranked 41st	Gold Silver Bronze Total 27 29 32 88
Summer appearances
1900 1904–1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980–1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winter appearances
1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980–1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018

Iran, also known as Persia a long time ago, first joined the Olympic Games in 1900. Since 1948, Iran has sent athletes to almost every Summer Olympic Games. They only missed the games in 1980 and 1984 because of political reasons. Iran has also taken part in the Winter Olympic Games many times since 1956.

So far, Iran has been in 19 Olympics. Before the 1979 Revolution, Iran won 4 gold medals in 9 Summer Olympics. After the revolution, they won 23 gold medals in 10 Summer Olympics.

The first Iranian to compete in the Olympics was Freydoun Malkom. He was a fencer who took part in the épée event at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Iranian athletes have won a total of 88 medals. These medals have all come from sports like wrestling, weightlifting, taekwondo, athletics, shooting, and karate. Iran's National Olympic Committee was started in 1947.

Olympic Medals for Iran

Iran has won many medals over the years. Let's look at how they've done in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Medals in Summer Games

Iran at Summer Olympic Games

Iran has competed in many Summer Olympic Games. They have won a good number of medals, especially in recent years.

The first Olympic medal for Iran was won by Jafar Salmasi.

Emam-Ali Habibi at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Mohammad Nassiri at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Sohrab Moradi at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1896 Athens	did not participate
1900 Paris	1	0	0	0	0	—
1904 St. Louis	did not participate
1908 London
1912 Stockholm
1920 Antwerp
1924 Paris
1928 Amsterdam
1932 Los Angeles
1936 Berlin
1948 London	36	0	0	1	1	34
1952 Helsinki	22	0	3	4	7	30
1956 Melbourne	17	2	2	1	5	14
1960 Rome	25	0	1	3	4	27
1964 Tokyo	63	0	0	2	2	34
1968 Mexico City	14	2	1	2	5	19
1972 Munich	50	0	2	1	3	28
1976 Montreal	86	0	1	1	2	33
1980 Moscow	did not participate
1984 Los Angeles
1988 Seoul	27	0	1	0	1	36
1992 Barcelona	40	0	1	2	3	44
1996 Atlanta	18	1	1	1	3	43
2000 Sydney	35	3	0	1	4	27
2004 Athens	38	2	2	2	6	29
2008 Beijing	55	1	0	1	2	52
2012 London	53	7	5	1	13	12
2016 Rio de Janeiro	63	3	1	4	8	24
2020 Tokyo	65	3	2	2	7	27
2024 Paris	41	3	6	3	12	21
2028 Los Angeles	future event
Total (19/30)	749	27	29	32	88	39

Medals in Winter Games

Iran has also sent athletes to the Winter Olympics. So far, they haven't won any medals in these games.

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	3	0	0	0	0	—
1960 Squaw Valley	did not participate
1964 Innsbruck	4	0	0	0	0	—
1968 Grenoble	4	0	0	0	0	—
1972 Sapporo	4	0	0	0	0	—
1976 Innsbruck	4	0	0	0	0	—
1980 Lake Placid	did not participate
1984 Sarajevo
1988 Calgary
1992 Albertville
1994 Lillehammer
1998 Nagano	1	0	0	0	0	—
2002 Salt Lake City	2	0	0	0	0	—
2006 Turin	2	0	0	0	0	—
2010 Vancouver	4	0	0	0	0	—
2014 Sochi	5	0	0	0	0	—
2018 Pyeongchang	4	0	0	0	0	—
2022 Beijing	3	0	0	0	0	–
2026 Milan/Cortina	future event
Total (12/24)	40	0	0	0	0	—

Medals by Sport

Iran's athletes have been very successful in certain sports. Wrestling and weightlifting are where they have won the most medals.

Iranian Olympic Medalists

Here is a list of all the athletes who have won medals for Iran at the Olympic Games.

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event	Date
3 Bronze	Salmasi, JafarJafar Salmasi	1948 London	Weightlifting	Men's 60 kg	019 August 1948
2 Silver	Takhti, GholamrezaGholamreza Takhti	1952 Helsinki	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 79 kg	0423 July 1952
2 Silver	Givehchi, NasserNasser Givehchi	1952 Helsinki	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 62 kg	0523 July 1952
2 Silver	Namjoo, MahmoudMahmoud Namjoo	1952 Helsinki	Weightlifting	Men's 56 kg	0725 July 1952
3 Bronze	Mollaghasemi, MahmoudMahmoud Mollaghasemi	1952 Helsinki	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 52 kg	0223 July 1952
3 Bronze	Mojtabavi, AbdollahAbdollah Mojtabavi	1952 Helsinki	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 73 kg	0323 July 1952
3 Bronze	Jahanbakht, TofighTofigh Jahanbakht	1952 Helsinki	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 67 kg	0623 July 1952
3 Bronze	Mirzaei, AliAli Mirzaei	1952 Helsinki	Weightlifting	Men's 56 kg	0825 July 1952
1 Gold	Habibi, Emam-AliEmam-Ali Habibi	1956 Melbourne	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 67 kg	121 December 1956
1 Gold	Takhti, GholamrezaGholamreza Takhti	1956 Melbourne	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 87 kg	131 December 1956
2 Silver	Yaghoubi, MehdiMehdi Yaghoubi	1956 Melbourne	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 57 kg	101 December 1956
2 Silver	Khojastehpour, Mohammad AliMohammad Ali Khojastehpour	1956 Melbourne	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 52 kg	111 December 1956
3 Bronze	Namjoo, MahmoudMahmoud Namjoo	1956 Melbourne	Weightlifting	Men's 56 kg	0923 November 1956
2 Silver	Takhti, GholamrezaGholamreza Takhti	1960 Rome	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 87 kg	156 September 1960
3 Bronze	Paziraei, MohammadMohammad Paziraei	1960 Rome	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 52 kg	1431 August 1960
3 Bronze	Seifpour, EbrahimEbrahim Seifpour	1960 Rome	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 52 kg	166 September 1960
3 Bronze	Elmkhah, EsmaeilEsmaeil Elmkhah	1960 Rome	Weightlifting	Men's 56 kg	177 September 1960
3 Bronze	Heidari, Ali AkbarAli Akbar Heidari	1964 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 52 kg	1814 October 1964
3 Bronze	Sanatkaran, Mohammad AliMohammad Ali Sanatkaran	1964 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 78 kg	1914 October 1964
1 Gold	Nassiri, MohammadMohammad Nassiri	1968 Mexico City	Weightlifting	Men's 56 kg	2013 October 1968
1 Gold	Movahed, AbdollahAbdollah Movahed	1968 Mexico City	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 70 kg	2220 October 1968
2 Silver	Jalayer, ParvizParviz Jalayer	1968 Mexico City	Weightlifting	Men's 67.5 kg	2115 October 1968
3 Bronze	Talebi, AboutalebAboutaleb Talebi	1968 Mexico City	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 57 kg	2320 October 1968
3 Bronze	Seyed-Abbasi, ShamseddinShamseddin Seyed-Abbasi	1968 Mexico City	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 63 kg	2420 October 1968
2 Silver	Nassiri, MohammadMohammad Nassiri	1972 Munich	Weightlifting	Men's 56 kg	2528 August 1972
2 Silver	Aliabadi, RahimRahim Aliabadi	1972 Munich	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 48 kg	2710 September 1972
3 Bronze	Javadi, EbrahimEbrahim Javadi	1972 Munich	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 48 kg	2631 August 1972
2 Silver	Barzegar, MansourMansour Barzegar	1976 Montreal	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 74 kg	2931 July 1976
3 Bronze	Nassiri, MohammadMohammad Nassiri	1976 Montreal	Weightlifting	Men's 52 kg	2818 July 1976
2 Silver	Mohammadian, AskariAskari Mohammadian	1988 Seoul	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 57 kg	301 October 1988
2 Silver	Mohammadian, AskariAskari Mohammadian	1992 Barcelona	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 62 kg	327 August 1992
3 Bronze	Khadem, Amir RezaAmir Reza Khadem	1992 Barcelona	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 74 kg	316 August 1992
3 Bronze	Khadem, RasoulRasoul Khadem	1992 Barcelona	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 82 kg	337 August 1992
1 Gold	Khadem, RasoulRasoul Khadem	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 90 kg	362 August 1996
2 Silver	Jadidi, AbbasAbbas Jadidi	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 100 kg	3531 July 1996
3 Bronze	Khadem, Amir RezaAmir Reza Khadem	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 82 kg	3431 July 1996
1 Gold	Tavakkoli, HosseinHossein Tavakkoli	2000 Sydney	Weightlifting	Men's 105 kg	3725 September 2000
1 Gold	Rezazadeh, HosseinHossein Rezazadeh	2000 Sydney	Weightlifting	Men's +105 kg	3826 September 2000
1 Gold	Dabir, AlirezaAlireza Dabir	2000 Sydney	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 58 kg	401 October 2000
3 Bronze	Saei, HadiHadi Saei	2000 Sydney	Taekwondo	Men's 68 kg	3928 September 2000
1 Gold	Rezazadeh, HosseinHossein Rezazadeh	2004 Athens	Weightlifting	Men's +105 kg	4125 August 2004
1 Gold	Saei, HadiHadi Saei	2004 Athens	Taekwondo	Men's 68 kg	4227 August 2004
2 Silver	Rezaei, AlirezaAlireza Rezaei	2004 Athens	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 120 kg	4428 August 2004
2 Silver	Mostafa-Jokar, MasoudMasoud Mostafa-Jokar	2004 Athens	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 60 kg	4529 August 2004
3 Bronze	Karami, YousefYousef Karami	2004 Athens	Taekwondo	Men's 80 kg	4328 August 2004
3 Bronze	Heidari, AlirezaAlireza Heidari	2004 Athens	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 96 kg	4629 August 2004
1 Gold	Saei, HadiHadi Saei	2008 Beijing	Taekwondo	Men's 80 kg	4822 August 2008
3 Bronze	Mohammadi, MoradMorad Mohammadi	2008 Beijing	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 60 kg	4719 August 2008
1 Gold	Mohammadpour, SaeidSaeid Mohammadpour	2012 London	Weightlifting	Men's 94 kg	504 August 2012
1 Gold	Sourian, HamidHamid Sourian	2012 London	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg	515 August 2012
1 Gold	Norouzi, OmidOmid Norouzi	2012 London	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg	526 August 2012
1 Gold	Nassirshalal, NavabNavab Nassirshalal	2012 London	Weightlifting	Men's 105 kg	536 August 2012
1 Gold	Rezaei, GhasemGhasem Rezaei	2012 London	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 96 kg	547 August 2012
1 Gold	Salimi, BehdadBehdad Salimi	2012 London	Weightlifting	Men's +105 kg	557 August 2012
1 Gold	Ghasemi, KomeilKomeil Ghasemi	2012 London	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 120 kg	6111 August 2012
2 Silver	Rostami, KianoushKianoush Rostami	2012 London	Weightlifting	Men's 85 kg	493 August 2012
2 Silver	Anoushiravani, SajjadSajjad Anoushiravani	2012 London	Weightlifting	Men's +105 kg	567 August 2012
2 Silver	Haddadi, EhsanEhsan Haddadi	2012 London	Athletics	Men's discus throw	577 August 2012
2 Silver	Bagheri Motamed, MohammadMohammad Bagheri Motamed	2012 London	Taekwondo	Men's 68 kg	589 August 2012
2 Silver	Goudarzi, SadeghSadegh Goudarzi	2012 London	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 74 kg	5910 August 2012
3 Bronze	Lashgari, EhsanEhsan Lashgari	2012 London	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 84 kg	6011 August 2012
1 Gold	Rostami, KianoushKianoush Rostami	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Weightlifting	Men's 85 kg	6212 August 2016
1 Gold	Moradi, SohrabSohrab Moradi	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Weightlifting	Men's 94 kg	6313 August 2016
1 Gold	Yazdani, HassanHassan Yazdani	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 74 kg	6819 August 2016
2 Silver	Ghasemi, KomeilKomeil Ghasemi	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 125 kg	6920 August 2016
3 Bronze	Abdevali, SaeidSaeid Abdevali	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 75 kg	6414 August 2016
3 Bronze	Rezaei, GhasemGhasem Rezaei	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 98 kg	6516 August 2016
3 Bronze	Alizadeh, KimiaKimia Alizadeh	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Taekwondo	Women's 57 kg	6618 August 2016
3 Bronze	Rahimi, HassanHassan Rahimi	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 57 kg	6719 August 2016
1 Gold	Foroughi, JavadJavad Foroughi	2020 Tokyo	Shooting	Men's 10 m air pistol	7024 July 2021
1 Gold	Geraei, Mohammad RezaMohammad Reza Geraei	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 67 kg	724 August 2021
1 Gold	Ganjzadeh, SajjadSajjad Ganjzadeh	2020 Tokyo	Karate	Men's kumite +75 kg	767 August 2021
2 Silver	Davoudi, AliAli Davoudi	2020 Tokyo	Weightlifting	Men's +109 kg	734 August 2021
2 Silver	Yazdani, HassanHassan Yazdani	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 86 kg	745 August 2021
3 Bronze	Saravi, Mohammad HadiMohammad Hadi Saravi	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 97 kg	713 August 2021
3 Bronze	Zare, Amir HosseinAmir Hossein Zare	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 125 kg	756 August 2021
1 Gold	Mohammad Hadi Saravi	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman −97 kg	787 August 2024
1 Gold	Saeid Esmaeili	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman −67 kg	808 August 2024
1 Gold	Arian Salimi	2024 Paris	Taekwondo	Men's +80 kg	8610 August 2024
2 Silver	Alireza Mohmadi	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman −87 kg	818 August 2024
2 Silver	Nahid Kiani	2024 Paris	Taekwondo	Women's 57 kg	828 August 2024
2 Silver	Yazdani, HassanHassan Yazdani	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 86 kg	839 August 2024
2 Silver	Mehran Barkhordari	2024 Paris	Taekwondo	Men's 80 kg	849 August 2024
2 Silver	Zare, Amir HosseinAmir Hossein Zare	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 125 kg	8510 August 2024
2 Silver	Rahman Amouzad	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 65 kg	8711 August 2024
3 Bronze	Amin Mirzazadeh	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg	776 August 2024
3 Bronze	Mobina Nematzadeh	2024 Paris	Taekwondo	Women's 49 kg	797 August 2024
3 Bronze	Amir Ali Azarpira	2024 Paris	Wrestling	Men's 97 kg	8811 August 2024

Sometimes, medal results can change later. This happens if an athlete is found to have used banned substances.

• Kianoush Rostami first won a bronze medal. Later, it was changed to a silver medal in 2016. This happened after another athlete tested positive for doping.
• Saeid Mohammadpour was originally 5th. He was upgraded to a gold medal in 2016. This was because the top four weightlifters tested positive for doping.
• Komeil Ghasemi first won a bronze medal. It was changed to a gold medal in 2019. This happened after the original gold and silver medalists tested positive for doping.
• Navab Nassirshalal first won a silver medal. It was changed to a gold medal in 2019. This was after the original gold medalist tested positive for doping.

Top Iranian Olympic Athletes

Some Iranian athletes have won multiple medals. Here are the ones with the most medals. Athletes whose names are in bold are still competing for Iran.

#	Athlete	Sport	Games				Total
1	Hadi Saei	Taekwondo	2000–2008	2	0	1	3
2	Hossein Rezazadeh	Weightlifting	2000–2004	2	0	0	2
3	Gholamreza Takhti	Wrestling	1952–1964	1	2	0	3
	Hassan Yazdani	Wrestling	2016–2024	1	2	0	3
5	Mohammad Nassiri	Weightlifting	1968–1976	1	1	1	3
6	Komeil Ghasemi	Wrestling	2012–2016	1	1	0	2
	Kianoush Rostami	Weightlifting	2012–2016	1	1	0	2
8	Rasoul Khadem	Wrestling	1992–1996	1	0	1	2
	Ghasem Rezaei	Wrestling	2012–2016	1	0	1	2
	Mohammad Hadi Saravi	Wrestling	2020–2024	1	0	1	2
11	Askari Mohammadian	Wrestling	1988–1992	0	2	0	2
12	Mahmoud Namjoo	Weightlifting	1952–1956	0	1	1	2
	Amir Hossein Zare	Wrestling	2020–2024	0	1	1	2
14	Amir Reza Khadem	Wrestling	1992–1996	0	0	2	2

See also

In Spanish: Irán en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

• List of flag bearers for Iran at the Olympics
• Category:Olympic competitors for Iran
• Iran at the Paralympics
• Iran at the Asian Games