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Jamal Valizadeh

Jamal Valizadeh
Personal information
Born (1991-09-26) 26 September 1991 (age 33)
Kermanshah, Iran
EducationUniversity of Lorraine
Sport
CountryInternational Olympic Committee Refugee Olympic Team
SportWrestling
Weight class60 kg
EventGreco-Roman

Jamal Valizadeh (Persian: جمال ولی‌زاده; born 26 September 1991) is an Iranian wrestler. He was selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team.

Biography

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Valizadeh was born in 1991 in Kermanshah, Iran.[1][2] He grew up in the village of Takhti and attended school in Sanandaj.[3][4] He was the only boy of 34 cousins who was initially not a wrestler; instead, he competed in handball as a goalkeeper, before being convinced to try out the sport at age 11.[4][5] He trained with his family each day and joined a club in Takhti, later beating the regional champion in his first year in the sport.[4][5] He quickly showed talent in the sport, competing in Greco-Roman events,[6] and won the national championship in the 55 kg category each year from 2011 to 2013.[5]

In 2014, Valizadeh attended a Kurd demonstration protesting the Islamic State.[7] He witnessed "the police [...] hitting the women and children," and intervened.[3][7] He recalled that "I threw myself between the legs of one of the officers, I used a wrestling technique on him."[7] However, he was overpowered and imprisoned, where he was tortured for two weeks.[7] Describing it as "hell," he later noted in Le Parisien:

I was interrogated, and they beat me when I didn't know what to answer to their questions [...] The worst part was the sleep deprivation. They let me rest for twenty minutes, then took me out of the cell to question me. I found myself in a cell where it was impossible to sit down. When you are forced to stand without sleeping for 24 hours, you go crazy. I was released on bail, but with the certainty of being convicted.[7]

Validezah went into hiding in Tehran for six months, while working jobs to earn money so that he could pay someone to smuggle him to Turkey.[7] In Turkey, he recalled that he "worked 16 hours a day, earning only 1,000 dollars after six months. [The employers] gave me $300 a month and I had to buy my own food ... they abused me, they did not respect me, they spoke badly to me."[6] He said "it was really hard," but that it was necessary to earn money to continue his journey.[6] In the winter of 2015, Valizadeh crossed the Mediterranean Sea on boat with other refugees; however, the boat started to sink and he had to swim several hundred metres to reach his destination.[8] He arrived in France on 1 January 2016 and later stayed at a shelter in Le Mans, receiving political refugee status.[7]

Valizadeh learned French and worked as a forklift driver in a supermarket for several years.[3] He also enrolled at the University of Lorraine, studying information technology (IT).[3] In January 2023, following eight years away from wrestling, he returned to the sport and joined a club in France.[5] He competed at six international tournaments that year representing the United World Wrestling (UWW) refugee team, including at the World Wrestling Championships and European Wrestling Championships.[9] He received an International Olympic Committee (IOC) scholarship and began training with the French national team multiple times a week.[5] In May 2024, he was announced as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics for the 60 kg Greco-Roman event.[5][10][11]

References

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  1. ^ "Jamal Valizadeh". Olympics.com.
  2. ^ Roger, Simon (25 July 2024). "Jamal Valizadeh aux JO 2024 : un lutteur invétéré à la poursuite de son rêve olympique" [Jamal Valizadeh at the 2024 Olympics: an inveterate wrestler in pursuit of his Olympic dream]. Le Monde (in French).
  3. ^ a b c d Bras, Oliver (2 May 2024). "Équipe des réfugiés : parti d'Iran en 2014, le lutteur Jamal Valizadeh va vivre son rêve olympique" [Refugee Team: Wrestler Jamal Valizadeh, who left Iran in 2014, will live his Olympic dream] (in French). France 24.
  4. ^ a b c "[JO2024] Rencontre avec Jamal Valizadeh, en route pour les Jeux Olympiques 2024" [[JO2024] Meeting with Jamal Valizadeh, on his way to the 2024 Olympic Games] (in French). University of Lorraine. 30 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Binner, Andrew (11 July 2024). "Once a fighter, always a fighter: Jamal Valizadeh 's inspiring journey to become a medal prospect". Olympics.com.
  6. ^ a b c "From Iran to the Olympics: A refugee wrestler's hopes for a medal". Inside the Games. 9 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Baheux, Romain (7 January 2024). "JO Paris 2024 : de la torture en Iran à la traversée de la Méditerranée, le rêve olympique de Jamal Valizadeh" [Paris 2024 Olympics: from torture in Iran to crossing the Mediterranean, Jamal Valizadeh's Olympic dream]. Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via archive.ph.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Jamal Valizadeh: From fight for survival to battle for glory at Paris Olympics". The National. 19 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Valizadeh, Mahdavi named in IOC Refugee Team for 2024 Paris Olympics". United World Wrestling. 2 May 2024.
  10. ^ Martirossian, Marie (21 July 2024). ""Un symbole d'espoir et de liberté" : Jamal Valizadeh, lutteur iranien réfugié en Moselle, participe aux Jeux Olympiques" ["A symbol of hope and freedom": Jamal Valizadeh, an Iranian wrestler who is a refugee in Moselle, participates in the Olympic Games] (in French). France Bleu.
  11. ^ "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.