The Olympic flame was officially extinguished during an elaborate closing ceremony Sunday, officially ending the 2024 Paris Games.
In taekwondo, Iran won one gold, two silvers, and one bronze and opened up a new chapter in the history of Iranian sports.
On his journey to finals, Arian Salimi defeated Carlos Sansores of Mexico in straight rounds in the quarterfinals to book a spot in the semifinals.
Salimi defeated former taekwondo world champion Ivan Šapina from Croatia 2-1 in the men's +80kg semifinals to advance to the final, eyeing gold.
In the high-adrenaline encounter, Salimi lost the first round to his Croatian opponent before bouncing back strongly to win the other two rounds, making good use of his height and acrobatics.
The first-time Olympian fought to an impressive victory over Great Britain’s Caden Cunningham 2-1 in the final match of the men's +80kg to win a gold medal.
"I am 20 years old and sure I have planned for the next three Olympic Games," Salimi said as he looked forward to a bright future in the sport.
"I am going to start step-by-step [towards] Los Angeles 2028 and then the other Olympics."
Mehran Barkhordari took a silver medal in the men's 80 kg. The sportsman was defeated 2-0.
Iran taekwondo athlete lost to Firas Katoussi from Tunisia in the men's -80kg final of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Iranian women athletes also won two historic silver and bronze medals.
Nahid Kiani grabbed a silver medal in the women's -57kg taekwondo, losing to Kim Yu-jin of South Korea 2-0 in the final.
Kiani who defeated her Lebanese rival Laetitia Aoun 2-0 in the semifinals in the women's -57kg weight category, filled to overcome her South Korean opponent and sufficed for second place in the world.
She has become the first woman in Iran’s history to advance to the final round of Olympic competition, breaking barriers and etching her name into the annals of sports history.
It was the best medal in the history of Iranian sportswomen in the Olympics.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian congratulated Kiani's victory in the Paris Olympics.
“My dear daughter, Nahid Kiani, your efforts in the Olympics are commendable. You wrote a new history for Iranian women's sports,” he tweeted.
“I congratulate you and all the people of Iran on winning the valuable Olympic silver,” Pezeshkian added.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf also congratulated Kiani and her coach.
He said that Kiani “made history in Iranian sports.”
“I congratulate her and her respected coach Mrs. Mino Madah and the officials of the federation,” he tweeted.
“The day is not far away when Iranian female athletes will win more medals than the men of our country in these competitions,” he said, adding, "Iranian girls can (do anything)."
Last but not least, Mobina Nematzadeh claimed a bronze medal in the women's 49kg taekwondo.
She defeated Saudi Arabia’s taekwondo athlete 2-0 to win the bronze medal at the prestigious event.
Iran finished in 21st place in the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris, the capital of France.
The Persians moved up six places in medal standing compared to the previous edition held in Tokyo.
Iranian athletes won three gold medals, six silvers, and three bronzes.
Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour
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