Kianoush Rostami (, born 23 July 1991) is an Iranian-born naturalized Kosovan olympian weightlifter. He competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, in the 85 kg event, winning the gold medal and setting a new world record with a total lift of 396 kilograms. Rostami won the silver medal at the London

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He originally took home the bronze medal, which ascended to a silver medal when Apti Aukhadov tested positive for dehydrochloromethyltestosterone from samples taken in 2012. Despite having the third highest total at 96 kg in Olympic qualifying, Rostami failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games, as he sat 31st in the ROBI point rankings because he scored zero points in the second qualification period (1 May 2019 to 31 October 2019) of the 2020 Olympics after missing all three lifts in the snatch portion of the

2019 World Weightlifting Championships The 2019 World Weightlifting Championships was held in Pattaya, Thailand from 18 to 27 September 2019. On September 12, Egypt was banned from competing at these Championships due to multiple doping offenses. The host nation, Thailand, was also ba ...

. In March 2025, Rostami received Kosovo citizenship and in July 2025 he will gain the right to represent

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Career

Rostami won the gold medal in the Men's 85 kg weight class at the 2011 World Weightlifting Championships. Rostami won the silver medal at the

in the men's 85 kg event with a total of 380 kg. In June 2016, it was announced his silver medal ascendancy after Apti Aukhadov had tested positive for prohibited substances and therefore disqualified for a medal. In 2016, while competing at the Fajr Cup, in

Tehran, Iran 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. ...

, Kianoush broke the

Clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without rest ...

world record for his weight division, lifting 220 kg. Kianoush also broke the world record for his total, with 395 kg. Kianoush Rostami competed in the

2016 Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, representing

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in the 85 kg weight division. He won the gold medal in the 85 kg weight class at the

by tying an Olympic record with a 217 kg clean and jerk – set by

Tian Tao Tian Tao (; born 8 April 1994) is a Chinese Olympic weightlifting, weightlifter, Olympian, World Champion, Asian Champion and Asian Games Champion competing in the 85 kg division until 2018 and 96 kg starting in 2018 after the Interna ...

just minutes prior – and setting a world record total with 396 kg.

Major results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rostami, Kianoush 1991 births Living people Iranian Kurdish people Iranian male weightlifters Iranian strength athletes People from Eslamabad-e Gharb Sportspeople from Kermanshah province Olympic weightlifters for Iran Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Iran Olympic silver medalists for Iran Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Kurdish sportsmen Iranian Yarsanis Weightlifters at the 2010 Asian Games Weightlifters at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in weightlifting Asian Games silver medalists for Iran World Weightlifting Championships medalists Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Weightlifters at the 2018 Asian Games 21st-century Iranian sportsmen Naturalised citizens of Kosovo