a podium and receiving a silver medal with an Israeli standing beside him wearing gold.
A number of conservatives have condemned the weightlifter after news photos showing him standing on the medal rostrum have appeared.
By policy, Iran forbids its athletes to compete against Israelis. The definition of competing is not entirely clear. For example, Iranian wrestlers often go to meets where an Israeli team is also entered. If an Iranian draws an Israeli opponent, the Iranian always drops out, getting a last minute “illness.”
International sports rules forbid an athlete to refuse to meet a competitor for religious, ethnic or political reasons, so an illness is required.
But if the Iranian doesn’t draw an Israeli opponent, he continues in the competition even though he may just be a few feet away from an Israeli wrestling on an adjoining mat.
In the case of weightlifting, competitors do not face one another. They simply come to the platform one at a time, do their lifts and leave.
Earlier this month, Iran sent a team to the World Masters Weightlifting Championships in Poland. In the 105-kilo division for ages 35 to 39, Israeli Sergio Britva lifted a total of 300 kilograms to win the gold medal while Hossain Khodadadi of Iran lifted 296 kilograms to gain the silver.
While Khodadadi had avoided facing Britva up to that point, the medal ceremony required the two men to stand side-by-side. That was when a photo that has proven very embarrassing for Khodadadi was taken. Khodadadi looks very uncomfortable in the picture—especially since Britva has wrapped himself in the Israeli flag so there is no doubt at all about his nationality!
The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Mir-Rasuli Raisi, the head of the Iranian team at the competition, as saying that everything had been done in coordination with the Iranian embassy in Warsaw—though it wasn’t clear what that was supposed to mean.
Khodadadi said that he had to attend the ceremony or all the Iranian medals awarded in the meet would have been withdrawn and the Iranian team disqualified from that meet and future events. ISNA said every Iranian weightlifter at the meet had won a medal.
Khodadadi said that he changed his attire for the ceremony so that he wouldn’t be standing next to the Israeli in the official Iranian team uniform, thus indicating that he knew full well that his standing on the platform could cause trouble.
The issue of Israeli sportsmen is causing considerable ferment in Iran. Many in the sports field have been lobbying the government to change he policy, arguing that the policy simply guarantees that Israelis win matches by default and Iranians lose out on medals.
At the Winter Olympics last January, some Iranian skiers were allowed to ski in events in which Israelis were entered. But that brief opening was soon closed down. A few weeks later, Iranians at another event had to drop out when an Israeli team arrived.