# Iran at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Iran, competing as the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), was represented by 63 athletes, 54 men and 9 women, at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Games of the 31st Olympiad.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/IRI) The delegation won eight medals, three gold, one silver, and four bronze, and finished 25th in the overall medal table.[2](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/59) • [3](https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2021/jul/28/iran-olympics-week-1) All eight medals came from three sports: freestyle wrestling, [Greco-Roman wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/greco-roman-wrestling), weightlifting, and taekwondo, the disciplines in which Iran has concentrated its Olympic success.[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Delegation size | 63 athletes, 54 men and 9 women[1](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/IRI) |
| Medal total | 3 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze, 8 total; 25th place overall[2](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/59) • [3](https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2021/jul/28/iran-olympics-week-1) |
| Weightlifting golds | Kianoush Rostami, men's 85 kg, 396 kg (179+217); Sohrab Moradi, men's 94 kg, 403 kg (182+221)[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) |
| Freestyle wrestling | Gold Hassan Yazdani (74 kg); silver Komeil Ghasemi (125 kg); bronze Hassan Rahimi (57 kg)[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) |
| Greco-Roman wrestling | Bronze Saeid Abdvali (75 kg) and Ghasem Rezaei (98 kg)[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) |
| Taekwondo | Bronze Kimia Alizadeh, women's 57 kg, the first Olympic medal won by an Iranian woman[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) • [5](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/12/kimia-alizadeh-iran-olympic-medalist) |
## Medal winners
**Weightlifting supplied both of Iran's individual gold medals outside wrestling.** Kianoush Rostami won the men's 85 kg class with a total of 396 kg, lifted as 179 kg in the snatch and 217 kg in the clean and jerk.[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) [Sohrab Moradi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sohrab-moradi) won the men's 94 kg class with 403 kg, 182 kg in the snatch and 221 kg in the clean and jerk.[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro)
**Freestyle wrestling produced one gold, one silver, and one bronze.** [Hassan Yazdani](https://www.edgepedia.org/hassan-yazdani) won the men's 74 kg title, [Komeil Ghasemi](https://www.edgepedia.org/komeil-ghasemi) took silver at 125 kg, and Hassan Rahimi won bronze at 57 kg.[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) • [6](https://mcubed.net/oly/summer/country/cirany2016.shtml) Across the freestyle tournament as a whole, a scoring analysis of the Rio 2016 wrestling ranked Iran among the ten most successful nations, alongside [Azerbaijan](https://www.edgepedia.org/azerbaijan), Russia, the United States, Turkey, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Belarus, and Japan.[7](https://inwr-wrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Scoring-Analysis-of-the-Wrestling-from-the-2016-Rio-Olympic-Games.pdf) In the wrestling medal table for the Games, Iran recorded 1 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze, five wrestling medals in all, against Azerbaijan's 0 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze.[8](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/59/sports/WRE)
**Greco-Roman wrestling added two bronze medals.** Saeid Abdvali took bronze in the men's 75 kg class and [Ghasem Rezaei](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghasem-rezaei) in the men's 98 kg class.[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro)
**Kimia Alizadeh's bronze in the women's 57 kg taekwondo event, won on August 18, 2016, was the first Olympic medal ever won by an Iranian woman.**[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro) • [5](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/12/kimia-alizadeh-iran-olympic-medalist) In January 2020 Alizadeh announced on Instagram that she had permanently left Iran, condemning the government for what she called its "corruption and lies," while saying she would always remain a "daughter of Iran."[5](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/12/kimia-alizadeh-iran-olympic-medalist) She later competed for the Refugee Olympic Team, and at the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in 2021, she defeated Iranian taekwondoka Nahid Kiyani 18-9 in an early round.[9](https://www.axios.com/2021/07/25/iranian-defector-beats-iranian-olympics)
## Performance in context
The eight-medal total was below the twelve medals a PwC economic model had projected for Iran at Rio 2016, a shortfall of four.[10](https://www.pwc.com/jp/en/japan-press-room/press-release/2016/assets/pdf/benchmark-olympic-medals160602.pdf) It was also well below Iran's immediately preceding Summer Games: at London 2012 the country had won 13 medals, 7 gold, 5 silver, and 1 bronze, its largest modern haul.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/IRI) At the next Summer Games, Tokyo 2020, Iran won 7 medals, 3 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/IRI)
The Rio result fit Iran's long-term Olympic pattern. Through its history, most of Iran's medals have come in the strength and combative sports of wrestling, weightlifting, and taekwondo; wrestling accounts for 55 of the country's Olympic medals, weightlifting 20, and taekwondo 10.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/IRI) The 2016 delegation's medal winners all came from these sports, with the taekwondo bronze the sole medal won by a woman among the eight.[4](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro)
## References
1. [Olympedia – Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/IRI)
2. [Olympedia – 2016 Summer Olympics Overview](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/59)
3. [Iran at the Olympics, The Iran Primer (USIP)](https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2021/jul/28/iran-olympics-week-1)
4. [Iran – Rio de Janeiro 2016 – Medallists, Olympic Games Winners](https://www.olympicgameswinners.com/nations/summer/iran/2016-rio-de-janeiro)
5. [First Iranian woman to win Olympic medal says she has defected, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/12/kimia-alizadeh-iran-olympic-medalist)
6. [mcubed.net: Summer Olympics, Iran, 2016 medals](https://mcubed.net/oly/summer/country/cirany2016.shtml)
7. [Scoring Analysis of the Wrestling from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, International Journal of Wrestling Science](https://inwr-wrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Scoring-Analysis-of-the-Wrestling-from-the-2016-Rio-Olympic-Games.pdf)
8. [Olympedia – Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/59/sports/WRE)
9. [Iranian defector defeats Iranian in taekwondo at Tokyo Olympics, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2021/07/25/iranian-defector-beats-iranian-olympics)
10. [Modelling Olympic Games performance, PwC (June 2016)](https://www.pwc.com/jp/en/japan-press-room/press-release/2016/assets/pdf/benchmark-olympic-medals160602.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Olympics and multisport subjects › Multisport Games and editions › Nations at the Games: delegations and qualification*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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