Paris, France, August 11, 2024: Arian Salimi capped a fine performance for Iran in taekwondo at the Paris Olympics when he won the gold medal in the men’s +80kg category on Saturday, August 10.
Salimi, who was making his Olympic debut, defeated Great Britain’s Caden Cunningham 2-1 in the final to clinch the gold medal, the fourth medal for Iran in taekwondo.
The Iranian battled valiantly after being one round down in a cagey but fascinating contest in the men’s heavyweight category. The second round saw Salimi land frequently before the Olympic title was decided in the last seconds of the final round as Salimi scored the decisive blows.
“I am 20 years old and sure I have planned for the next three Olympic Games,” Salimi said as he looked forward to a bright future in the sport. “I am going to start step-by-step to Los Angeles 2028 and then the other Olympics.”
The other three medals in taekwondo were two silvers won by Nahid Kiani in the women’s -57kg and Mehran Barkhordari in the men’s -80kg, and a bronze for Mobina Nematzedeh in the women’s -49kg.
Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist Salimi defeated Uzbekistan’s Nikita Rafalovich, Mexican Carlos Sansores and Ivan Sapina of Croatia on his way to the final.
With one day of competition left, Iran had collected 10 medals – the other six all coming in wrestling including two gold medals, three silvers and one bronze medal.