Draft:List of Iranian refugee and immigrant athletes
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Instructions·What links here· List of Iranian refugee and immigrant athletes (talk: + · bio) · (log) ·Copyvios report· reFill · Citation Bot · (Search: Google, Bing, Wikipedia) · Submitted 17 days ago by Claggy (talk: D · +) · Last edited 13 days ago by Claggy
After the Iranian Revolution in 1978, many athletes immigrated or took refuge in other countries.[1][2][3] The main reasons for these migrations were political, financial, social and sports management problems in Iran.[4][5][6]
Most of these athletes became citizens of other countries and participate in competitions representative of that country.[7][8][9] Some of them also compete representative of IOC and under the name of UN Refugee Agency.[10][11][12] And a smaller number which are considered legionnaires, simply migrated and still compete representative Iran.[13][14]
36 refugee athletes from 11 countries will compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, 14 of them are Iranian.[15][16][17]
Here is a list of notable Iranian refugee and immigrant athletes and classified information about them.
^"Olympics: Defying threats, Iranian athletes speak out to back ban". BBC. 2021-07-18. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Azizi, Arash (2024-04-04). "Why has Iran's only female Olympian medalist defected to Bulgaria?". The National. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Freedom-flavoured silver medal for Iranian-born judoka competing for Mongolia". France 24. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Riddell, Don (2021-07-01). "International Olympic Committee is coming under pressure over the alleged torture and arrest of Iranian athletes". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Mother converted to Christianity from Islam; 'Iran had problems' says Yavarivafa, IOC Refugee program shuttler". The Indian Express. 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iran: Weightlifter Mostafa Rajai banned for photo with Israeli". BBC. 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Exiled Iranian Chess Grandmasters Go Head To Head Under Foreign Flags". Iran International. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Once Friends, Now Rivals: The Iranian Athletes Facing Off Under Different Flags at the 2020 Tokyo Games". TIME. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iranian refugees fled to NI for their 'futures and freedom'". 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Refugee athletes stride into global spotlight as Tokyo Games begin". UNHCR. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Esfandiari, Golnaz. "Iranian Battles Iranian Refugee At The Tokyo Olympics". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Alireza Jahanbakhsh is Netherlands Top Goalscorer". Financial Tribune. 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Kassam, Ashifa; correspondent, Ashifa Kassam European community affairs (2023-10-01). "'It was strange': Iranian chess players meet across board in exile". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"IOC unveils 36-athlete Refugee Team for Paris '24". ESPN.com. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
^"Iranian Athletes Make Up Nearly Half of 2024 Refugee Olympic Squad". Iran International. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
^"Refugee Olympic Team 2024: Which athletes are heading to Paris?". Yahoo News. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
^"The boxer who fled Iran seeking the freedom to fight". BBC. 2023-02-12. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Dissidents call to ban Iran from Olympics for discriminating against women". Times of Israel. 2023-09-15.
^"Refugee canoeist gets green light towards Olympics in Tokyo". InfoMigrants (in French). 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Church, Ben (2023-01-12). "Iranian chess referee fears ostracism over her activism as she challenges Russian chief of game's governing body". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Derakhshani, Dorsa (2017-12-29). "Opinion | Why I Left Iran to Play Chess in America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Barden, Leonard (2019-12-27). "Chess: Iran's Alireza Firouzja, 16, bypasses ban on playing Israelis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iran left without women chess GrandMasters after Sara Khadem's defection". The Indian Express. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Mitra Hejazipour, chess grandmaster: 'I started wearing the hijab when I was 5. I couldn't take it anymore'". Le Monde.fr. 2024-03-30. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Kassam, Ashifa (2023-01-25). "'It just didn't feel right': top Iran chess player on why she removed headscarf". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iranian-American Chess Master Urges Iran's Players to Quit National Federation". Voice of America. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"The Disastrous Impact of Ideology on Iranian Chess". IranWire. 2023-06-25.
^"Iranian cyclist Ganjkhanlou disappears in Glasgow". Tehran Times. 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iran team sabre win gold in 2021 Solidarity Games". Tehran Times. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"By Parading a 'Refugee' Judoka, Sports Bosses Try to Entice Iranian Athletes Home". IranWire. 2021-12-02.
^Moshtaghian, Artemis (2022-11-29). "Iranian soccer great alleges death threats made against him by the Iran government after supporting protesters". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Gros plan sur l'arrière gauche iranien de Veszprém. Jamali, le pionnier". www.dna.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iranian judo officials agree to end decades-long boycott of Israeli athletes". Times of Israel. 2019-05-12.
^Church, Ben (2021-02-19). "Iranian judoka says he'll never forget the kindness of the Israeli team". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iranian-Americans protest against Iran at Iowa wrestling world cup". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iran protests: 'Athletes should be on the right side' – DW – 04/27/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Former Iranian refugee represents the United States as karate world champion". UNHCR US. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Fassihi, Farnaz (2023-01-07). "Iran Executes 2 Men Arrested in Protests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Reza Goodary, the first Iranian to fight for the WBC Muay Thai world title". Tehran Times. 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^ a b"Attractive fight between 2 Iranian kickboxing stars in Japan". Mehr News Agency. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Dariush-Tsarukyan to headline UFC Austin card". ESPN.com. 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Pannie Kianzad: From Worrier To Warrior | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"MMA star Reza Madadi: Break the taboo of Iranians fighting Israelis". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Davies, Gareth A. (2017-10-19). "Gegard Mousasi: from exodus in Iran to a life as one of the world's great road warriors". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Special program: conversation with Sajad Sattari, the only Iranian with the most prestigious Muay Thai title (in Persian). 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-01 – via Voice of America.
^"Undefeated Iranian fighter Mohammed Siasarani to face big Thai star at ONE Friday Fights 34 - Sport360 News". sport360.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Social media fight spreads in Iran as women seek to regain international travel rights". ABC News. 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Why Iranian athletes turn their backs on Tehran – DW – 01/23/2020". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Phipps, Claire; Ames, Nick; Miller, Nick; Burnton, Simon; Echegaray, Luis Miguel; Hill, Tim; Parkin, Richard (2016-08-20). "Rio 2016 Olympics: Usain Bolt clinches ninth Olympic gold as Jamaica win relay – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"'Elnaz Rekabi is a hero' – taekwondo fighter Parisa Farshidi – DW – 10/24/2022". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^Association, Press (2015-05-18). "Silver for Britain's Damon Sansum after win over Aaron Cook of Moldova". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Kasra Mehdipournejad". The Players' Tribune. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iranian refugee taekwondo fighter Dina Poriones loses her first match at Tokyo Olympics". Iran International. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"Iranian women taekwondo team to compete at world championships". Tehran Times. 2015-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^"The fight for a stolen childhood dream – DW – 05/25/2022". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
^ a b"By Parading a 'Refugee' Judoka, Sports Bosses Try to Entice Iranian Athletes Home". IranWire. 2021-12-02.
France
Germany
United Kingdom
United States
Switzerland
Spain
Canada
Azerbaijan
Hungary
Mongolia
Thailand
Japan
Finland
Sweden
Norway
Belgium
Serbia
Netherlands
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