Komeil Ghasemi (Persian: کمیل قاسمی, born 27 February 1988)[1] is a retired Iranian wrestler who won a gold medal in the men's freestyle 120 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[2] Ghasemi was awarded his Olympic gold medal after the two wrestlers ahead of him failed drug tests.[3] Ghasemi is the most successful Iranian heavyweight wrestler at the Olympic Games.

Komeil Ghasemi
Ghasemi at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Native nameکمیل قاسمی
Full nameKomeil Ghasemi
National team Iran
Born (1988-02-27) 27 February 1988 (age 36)
Juybar, Mazandaran, Iran
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight120 kg (265 lb)
Websiteinstagram
Sport
SportWrestling
Coached byRasoul Khadem
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Iran
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 120 kg
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 125 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2014 Tashkent 125 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Astana 125 kg
Silver medal – second place 2011 Tashkent 120 kg
Silver medal – second place 2015 Doha 125 kg

He also won a silver medal at the 2011 Asian Wrestling Championships in the 120 kg freestyle discipline.[4] He was born in Juybar, in Iran's Mazandaran province but spent his childhood in Sari. He started wrestling seriously after moving back to Juybar.[5][6] Following his Olympic appearance, Ghasemi won the 120 kg weight class at the 2013 Freestyle World Cup in Tehran, Iran, helping his nation take gold in the tournament.[7] At the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships he won a gold medal in the 125 kg freestyle tournament,[8] while at that year's World Championships he took silver in the same event.[9] He took silver in the 125 kg freestyle event at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships, losing the final to Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgyzstan,[10] and the 2016 Summer Olympics, behind Taha Akgül of Turkey.[11] Ghasemi retired in 2019 after losing the Iranian trials for the 2019 World Wrestling Championships.[12][13][14][15]

Coaching career

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As of 2023, Ghasemi is the head coach of Cambodian national wrestling team. He started his coaching position in October 2020.[16] Under Ghasemi Cambodian wrestlers recorded a total haul of 19 medals (three golds, three silvers and 13 bronzes) at the 2022 Southeast Asian Wrestling Championship, their biggest ever since first joining the regional tournament a few years back.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (August 2012). "Komeil Ghasemi Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  2. ^ Lloyd, Owen (19 September 2022). "Iranian wrestler Ghasemi finally receives London 2012 gold medal". Inside the Games. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  3. ^ "IOC Determines Taymazov Fails London Re-Test". United World Wrestling. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  4. ^ "ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - TASHKENT 2011" (PDF). International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  5. ^ "کمیل قاسمی: می‌خواستم بعد از طلای المپیک خداحافظی کنم". mashreghnews.ir. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Komeil Ghasemi". Athletes. London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Iran wins Freestyle Wrestling World Cup". Tehran Times Volume. 11652 22 Feb 2013. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Asian Senior Championship - New Delhi (IND)" (PDF). International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Iran's Komeil Ghasemi wins silver in World Wrestling Championships". Tehran Times. 9 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Senior Asian Championship 2015 - Doha (QAT)" (PDF). United World Wrestling. May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Taha Akgul Beats Komeil Ghasemi for 125kg Wrestling Gold". WNBC. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  12. ^ Feiz, Ali (1 July 2019). "Three Yazdani's Win Iran Freestyle Team Trials, Ghasemi Retires". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  13. ^ "خداحافظی دراماتیک؛گریه سنگین وزن دلنازک". Varzesh3 (in Persian). Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  14. ^ "دلیل خداحافظی کمیل قاسمی مشخص شد" (in Persian). rasadvarzeshi.com. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Komeil GHASEMI - Olympic | Islamic Republic of Iran". International Olympic Committee. 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Cambodia hosts educational activities in lead up to Southeast Asian Championships". 29 March 2023. United World Wrestling. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  17. ^ Senase, Jose Rodriguez T. (3 January 2023). "Iranian coach sees 'bright future' for Cambodian wrestling". Khmer Times. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
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