“From Refugee [Olympic] Team, for 100 million, for peace.”
That is what Iman Mahdavi wrote on the Olympic Truce Mural at the Olympic Village, located on the serene banks of the river Seine on the outskirts of Paris.
Mahdavi is representing the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Paris 2024, the 100 million in reference to the number of displaced people around the world. Their message will also be echoed around the world throughout the Games, as he serves as one of those representatives in Paris.
His father was an amateur wrestler in a form of regional wrestling, whose passion rubbed off on his son at 10-years-old. Now Mahdavi is carving his own path and making it in the professional game, living his and his father’s ambitions.
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“My father encouraged me to do wrestling,” Mahdavi tells Olympics.com. “He took me to the wrestling club where I met a lot of other young people who were interested in doing wrestling. All the boys wanted to do it so that is also why I was always involved, I am fulfilling my dream to do wrestling.”
That dream reaches another level as the Iranian-born wrestler, now training in Italy, is competing in Paris.
Iman Mahdavi, from the Caspian Sea to the River Seine
Mahdavi has a tattoo of the Olympic rings on his ribcage, with ‘Paris 2024’ written under them. These Games are already immortalised for him, just being here is the honour he and thousands of other athletes are sharing.
His training schedule in preparation for Paris has consisted of training four hours a day, two in the morning and two in the evening.
Alongside training, Mahdavi works as a bouncer at a nightclub to support his dream. The sacrifice is big, but the reward of making it to Paris from the shores of the Caspian Sea where he grew up make it all worthwhile.
Iman Mahdavi (left) and Kasra Mehdipournejad of the Refugee Olympic Team pose on the River Seine during the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony.
“I wear the Refugee Olympic Team t-shirt in training and proudly tell everyone that I’m representing the millions of refugees,” he explains. “Everyone at the Olympic Games has a purpose, and they want to fight for that purpose. It is every athlete’s dream to go to the Olympics and I’m happy that I have finally qualified.
“There was a lot of hardship and stress, but I have forgot about that now and now I am fully focused on training. I am not only fulfilling my dream, but that of all the refugees who can fulfil their own dreams with this opportunity, and I hope that I can be a role model and give them hope that they can also achieve what they wish for.”
Mahdavi will represent the Refugee Olympic Team in the men’s freestyle 74kg competition, where he and his teammates are hoping to win the team’s first ever Olympic medal.
Mahdavi, one of 37 refugee athletes for 100 million refugees
The Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) is represented at Paris 2024 by 37 athletes across 12 sports, each with their own unique story and road to Paris.
They had the honour of being the second team in the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony, welcomed warmly by the thousands of spectators on the banks of the river Seine with cheers, waves and the heart symbol, designated as the official symbol of support for the ROT.
“It makes me happy to see people from different nationalities come together under one flag and compete in a peaceful environment,” he admits. “I hope that everyone is united at these Games, and I want to prove that by competing, we are showing that opportunity exists for us.
Mahdavi is one of two wrestlers in the Paris 2024 team, alongside Greco-Roman wrestler Jamal Valizadeh, and he takes real pride in being a figurehead for the more than 100 million displaced people across the world.
“When we leave our country, we lose hope,” he explains. “We should never think that our life is over when we experience hardship. We should fight for our goals and objectives for everyone leaving their country. My message to refugees is to fight for your dream, and I hope this opportunity gives them hope to fulfil theirs.”
Mahdavi continued, “I am not only here to get a medal, but to represent all refugees and feel their support to help me with my objectives. I want to reach the peak of the mountain, while always staying calm and finding the solution, because there always is one.”
Mahdavi: I want to create a legacy with my own sports club
In a few weeks’ time, Mahdavi will have made his Olympic debut and played his part in the ROT’s legacy for refugees around the world.
Legacy is an important word for the wrestler, not just as a refugee athlete at Paris 2024, but also beyond that as an individual, as Iman.
“In the future, I want to open a sports club where I can teach people, especially the young generation, the technique of wrestling,” Mahdavi explains. “I want to have this club as my legacy, and to show that refugees can do anything if they have a clear goal.”
At the end of the day, that is what it is about for him. Having overcome challenges already, now it is about inspiring the next generation and showing what is possible. “I hope my representation gives hope to all other refugees,” Mahdavi adds. “My presence and participation at the Olympics is a message to all refugees.”
The men’s freestyle 74kg competition is one of the final wrestling events of Paris 2024, getting underway on 9 August at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.
