#OlympicChannel

Olympic Channel: Iran's 'Greatest' Hassan Yazdani Seeks Wrestling Immortality

Thursday, June 25, 2020 - 12:35 By Andrew Binner

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Hassan YAZDANI, a 25-year-old native of Jouybar, is already a national hero in Iran. He's claimed gold at the Rio Olympic Games and has a pair of world titles on his resume. In an article published on the Olympic Channel, Andrew Binner broke down the career of "The Greatest" and looked at his path to a potential second Olympic title.

"Freestyle wrestling is Iran’s national sport, so when Hassan Yazdani pinned down the 74kg gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, he became an instant national hero.

He moved up to 86kg, which better suited his growing frame, taking out the world championships gold medal at his new weight division in 2017 and 2019.

Yazdani became known as The Greatest and Fearless back home, while his Instagram account swelled to over 500K followers. Quite simply, he could walk the streets of Iran like he was The King… which is incidentally another one of his nicknames there.

“The truth is that I hope I am worthy of these nicknames,” he told Tehran Times. “Each one is valuable for me and so I hope I can live up to the nicknames and the expectations of my great fans. I always want to keep their hope, so I accept them all and just hope that I am worthy.”

Read more on the Olympic Channel's site ... here

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Lalovic attends 100th anniversary of Bulgarian Olympic Committee

Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 10:57 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 20) -- United World Wrestling President and International Olympic Committee Executive Board Member Nenad LALOVIC visited Sofia on May 17-18 on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.

Lalovic met IOC President Thomas BACH during the celebration which also saw the presence of European Olympic Committee President Spyros CAPRALOS and EOC Secretary General Raffaele PANGNOZZI.

Nenad LALOVICNenad LALOVIC, right, with IOC President Thomas BACH in Sofia.

"I want to congratulate the Bulgarian Olympic Committee on its 100th anniversary," Lalovic said. "Bulgaria has a rich tradition in the Olympic program. Tonight was a night to celebrate the success of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation and the 71 wrestlers who brought their nation pride by winning a medal at the Olympic Games.

"In 1956, Nikola STANTCHEV (BUL) became Bulgaria’s first-ever Olympic medalist with his gold at the Melbourne Olympic Games. Since that gold 67 years ago, and with the belief of the BOK, Bulgarian athletes have become a staple on the Olympic podium, winning 70 medals.

"Bulgaria should continue to express the highest confidence in their Olympic Committee and be proud of their Olympians and national heroes."

During his stay in Sofia, Lalovic had an official meeting with the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen RADEV and attended the official ceremony to commemorate the NOC Centenary.

Nenad LALOVICNenad LALOVIC was presented the Commemorative medal of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.

During the ceremony, he was presented with The Commemorative medal of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee by the NOC President Stefka KOSTADINOVA.

Lalovic, who is Doctor Honoris Causa of the National Sports Academy, Sofia visited the newly created Olympic Educational and Study Center at the academy and was awarded the Honorary Badge with Ribbon by the Rector of the Academy.

The UWW President attended the Opening of a Commemorative Photo Exhibition and the Ceremony of validation of a postage stamp to mark the celebration.