Jamal Valizadeh (; born 26 September 1991) is an Iranian

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

. He was selected for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

as a member of the

Refugee Olympic Team The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a symbol ...

Biography

Valizadeh was born in 1991 in

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

, Iran. He grew up in the village of Takhti and attended school in

Sanandaj Sanandaj (; ) is a city in the Central District of Sanandaj County, in the Kurdistan province of Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. With a population of 414,069, it is the second largest Kurdish city a ...

. He was the only boy of 34 cousins who was initially not a

; instead, he competed in

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, before being convinced to try out the sport at age 11. 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. He quickly showed talent in the sport, competing in

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

events, and won the national championship in the 55 kg category each year from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, Valizadeh attended a

Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

demonstration protesting the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

. He witnessed "the police ..hitting the women and children," and intervened. He recalled that "I threw myself between the legs of one of the officers, I used a wrestling technique on him." However, he was overpowered and imprisoned, where he was tortured for two weeks. Describing it as "hell," he later noted in ''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

'': Validezah went into hiding in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

for six months, while working jobs to earn money so that he could pay someone to smuggle him to Turkey. In Turkey, he recalled that he "worked 16 hours a day, earning only 1,000 dollars after six months. he employersgave 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." He said "it was really hard," but that it was necessary to earn money to continue his journey. In the winter of 2015, Valizadeh crossed the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

on boat with other refugees; however, the boat started to sink and he had to swim several hundred metres to reach his destination. He arrived in France on 1 January 2016 and later stayed at a shelter in

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, receiving political refugee status. Valizadeh learned

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and worked as a

forklift A forklift (also called industrial truck, lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th c ...

driver in a supermarket for several years. He also enrolled at the

University of Lorraine The University of Lorraine (), abbreviated as UL, is a public research university based in Lorraine, Grand Est region, France. It was created on 1 January 2012, by the merger of Henri Poincaré University, Nancy 2 University, Paul Verlaine Un ...

, studying

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(IT). In January 2023, following eight years away from wrestling, he returned to the sport and joined a club in France. He competed at six international tournaments that year representing the

United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of Wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the World Championships and Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrest ...

(UWW) refugee team, including at the

World Wrestling Championships The World Wrestling Championships for Greco-Roman wrestling (men, since 1904) and freestyle wrestling (men since 1951, women since 1987) are organized by United World Wrestling (UWW). Unofficial editions Several World Greco-Roman Championships h ...

and

European Wrestling Championships The European Wrestling Championships is the second oldest international wrestling competition of the modern world and the main wrestling championships in Europe. It predates World Wrestling Championships and other regional wrestling championships ...

. He received an

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) scholarship and began training with the French national team multiple times a week. In May 2024, he was announced as a member of the

to compete at the

for the 60kg Greco-Roman event.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valizadeh, Jamal 1991 births Living people Iranian male sport wrestlers Iranian refugees Iranian emigrants to France Sportspeople of Iranian descent Sportspeople from Kermanshah University of Lorraine alumni Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Iranian sportsmen