World's strongest man wins Iran's 1st gold of Athen 2004!

[Mani]

Iranian Hercules, Hossein Rezazadeh, won Iran's 1st gold of Athen 2004 and Iran's 10th gold of olympic history by hoisting 473.5 kilograms in men's superheavyweight category :D A few more golds to come for Iran in Taekwondo and Wrestling this week ;) We also could have had one sure gold in Judo ( By Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili who was told by Iran's Olympic committee not to compete against an Israeli ) but lost the golden chance becuase stupidity and politics reigns over Iran's Olympic committee... :mad:

http://im.rediff.com/sports/2004/aug/24iran.jpg

[greenlion]

Iranian Hercules, Hossein Rezazadeh, won Iran's 1st gold of Athen 2004 and Iran's 10th gold of olympic history by hoisting 473.5 kilograms in men's superheavyweight category :D A few more golds to come for Iran in Taekwondo and Wrestling this week ;) We also could have had one sure gold in Judo ( By Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili who was told by Iran's Olympic committee not to compete against an Israeli ) but lost the golden chance becuase stupidity and politics reigns over Iran's Olympic committee... :mad:

http://im.rediff.com/sports/2004/aug/24iran.jpg
Congretulations!

[Mani]

Congretulations!

Thanks and good luck to you for the top spot in medals :)

[persiantiger]

The real hercules is persian even the greeks agree.
Congrats to reza zadeh for breaking his own record therefore the world and olympic record as well :D here are some articles published after his win

Men's +105kg : REZA ZADEH (IRI) wins gold
ATHENS, 25 August - Hossein REZA ZADEH (IRI) demoralised his opponents with an awesome display of power to win Iran's first gold medal in Athens.

The 26-year-old won by 17.5kg in the super heavyweight +105kg category after setting new World and Olympic records in the Clean and Jerk with 263.5kg

This is what Rezazadeh said a while ago:'when I'm in a tournament, everybody else will be competing for second place' he talks the talk and walks the walk.

http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/page/countries?oid=ca1802b31af59f00VgnVCMServer28130b0aRCRD&lang=fr&cid=1a0d470429149f00VgnVCMServer28130b0aRCRD

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1092820700234410.xml

ATHENS, Greece -- A standard refrigerator weighs about 200 pounds. Now imagine lifting three of them over your head, and you understand what makes Hossein Rezazadeh so unique.
Oh, and his hobbies? Eating. Here is one guy who can raid the fridge and then lift it

Viktors SCERBATIHS (LAT) - silver medallist

On his chances of winning the gold medal:

"I never expected to win the gold medal. REZA ZADEH is unbeatable

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/weightlifting/3599690.stm

Sports Illustrated article
(it's more on the american guy than the iranian hercules tho)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Shane Hamman proved once again Wednesday night that he's the strongest man in America, adding to his legacy by breaking two of his U.S. records.

But he came away from the Olympic super heavyweight lifting finals in awe of Iran's Hossein Rezazadeh, who proved once again that he's the strongest man in the world -- by far.

Rezazadeh took the lead on his second lift and was guaranteed gold after his fourth. After his only miss, he came back with a 581-pound (263.5-kg) clean and jerk, setting a world record and matching the record total lift of 1,041.7 pounds (472.5 kg) he set four years ago in Sydney.

"He is intimidating to some of the guys,'' said Hamman, who at 5-foot-9 and nearly 350 pounds doesn't get intimidated often. "You see how easily he stands up with the bar. Even people who aren't lifters can see it.''

Silver medalist Viktors Scerbatihs of Latvia was a whopping 38.6 pounds (17.5 kg) behind Rezazadeh. Velichko Cholakov of Bulgaria won the bronze with a total that was closer to Hamman's seventh-place finish than to Rezazadeh.

Although Hamman improved three spots on his 2000 Olympics, he was mildly disappointed because he came in eyeing a medal. Pulling off a clean and jerk of 523.6 pounds (237.5 kg) and a total lift of 948 pounds (430 kg) provided some consolation.

"I think that's cool,'' Hamman said.

Hamman grew up lifting weights to stay in shape for football. He decided to pursue this sport after seeing it in the 1996 Olympics.

He's dominated the national scene ever since, but this is one sport where Americans are far behind the rest of the world. The United States last got a weightlifting medal at the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Games and hasn't finished in the top three of this division since 1956.

Although at 32 he's at the peak lifting age, Hamman hopes to make it to Beijing in 2008. His body feels good and he figures being late to the sport should extend his prime.

"I think I still have my best performances in front of me,'' he said.

The 26-year-old Rezazadeh might, too, with emphasis on performance.

He came out waving from the start, then touched the podium and kissed his hand on his way up for his first lift. His reactions were more exuberant with each trip, culminating with him kissing the floor, bowing all around then pulling out the flag on his singlet and kissing it. He closed by holding out his arms, showing off hands so caked in chalk he appeared to be wearing white gloves.

"The Olympic medal is a precious thing to acquire and obtain,'' he said. "I came full of strength.''

[riceburner3508]

Yea I saw that guy on TV, that dude is frickin huge. Congratulations to Iran.

[Power_of_foot]

he is great!
he is really strong.


Iranian Hercules, Hossein Rezazadeh, won Iran's 1st gold of Athen 2004 and Iran's 10th gold of olympic history by hoisting 473.5 kilograms in men's superheavyweight category :D A few more golds to come for Iran in Taekwondo and Wrestling this week ;) We also could have had one sure gold in Judo ( By Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili who was told by Iran's Olympic committee not to compete against an Israeli ) but lost the golden chance becuase stupidity and politics reigns over Iran's Olympic committee... :mad:

http://im.rediff.com/sports/2004/aug/24iran.jpg