Alirezaei became the first Iranian ever to qualify for an Olympic swimming event without using wildcard, when he qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, he withdrew from the race minutes before he was scheduled to compete against an Israeli.[1][2] According to team officials, Alirezaei fell ill before the qualifiers for the men's 100 meter breaststroke, and was taken to a hospital in Beijing.[1][2]
Several other media reports stated Alirezaei had been ordered by Iranian authorities to withdraw from the competition, to avoid swimming against Israeli Olympic swimmer Tom Be'eri.[3][4][5]Olympic Committee of Israel General Secretary Efraim Zinger said:
"This isn't the first time this has happened and it doesn't surprise me anymore. Politics takes precedence over sport with the Iranians and the Olympic spirit is as far from them as east is far from west. My heart goes out to the Iranian athletes... There's no place for this kind of behavior in the Olympic movement and it's a shame it continues."[5]
The Iranian president was quoted by the state news agency as saying that Alirezaei's actions would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories," and he declared that Iran consider Alirezaei to be "the champion of the 2004 Olympic Games."[6] But Giselle Davies, director of communications for the International Olympic Committee, stated that Alirezaei had confirmed in writing that he withdrew from the men's 100 metre breaststroke because of illness, and that the committee would take Alirezaei at his word. Iran could have faced sanctions had the IOC decided that Alirezaei pulled out of the race because an Israeli was scheduled to compete.[7] Giselle Davies, director of communications for the IOC, said that Alirezaei withdrew because of sickness and submitted his case in writing to his Federation. Davies stated: "We take both the athlete and the [Iranian] National Olympic Committee at their word on this."[8] Flip Bondy wrote in the New York Daily News: "This is ... worthy of expulsion from the Olympic movement. Yet such an action would create a precarious schism, so the IOC once again has cynically agreed to believe the Iranians' medical excuse for Alirezaei... Instead, the IOC shamelessly shifted into ingenuous mode."[9]
Alirezaei also withdrew from the 2009 Swimming World Championship in Rome, refusing to race in the same heat in the men’s 50-meter breaststrokeas Israeli Mickey Malul.[4][10]
Alirezaei also withdrew from the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships after he was put in the same heat with Israeli Olympic swimmer Gal Nevo.[11] He was the only swimmer in the 83-man field who did not start.[12]Fédération internationale de natation's executive director, Cornel Marculescu, said FINA was looking into the situation, but added: "If this is the case there's no point in [Iran] coming to the world championships. We don't need these politics in our sport."[11] Yitzhak Kramer, the head of the Israeli delegation, said he was used to such behavior, but: "If someone wants to behave like a child we don't care."[11] Alirezaei's withdrawal was compared to a similar incident at the 2004 Athens Games involving Iranian Judo champion Arash Miresmaeili.
^ ab"Iranian Swimmer Pulls Out of Heat That Includes Israeli," The New York Times.
^"Iran protests ban on wrestler who threw bout to avoid Israeli," The Times of Israel.
^ ab"Iranian swimmer refuses to race Israeli contender at worlds; Just as in Beijing Olympics, Iranian swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei's chooses not to compete in heat with Israel's Mickey Malul at world championships in Rome.", ynet.
^ abc"Iranian swimmer again refuses to compete with Israeli athlete at World Championships," World Jewish Congress.
^"Iranian swimmer gets sick over Israeli competitor"
January 06, 2023
mohammad, alirezaei, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, availabl. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mohammad Alirezaei Dizicheh Persian محمد علیرضایی دیزیچه born 27 July 1985 in Esfahan is an Iranian former breaststroke swimmer Mohammad AlirezaeiPersonal informationFull nameMohammad Alirezaei DizichehNationalityIranianBorn 1985 07 27 July 27 1985 age 37 Esfahan IranHeight1 93 m 6 ft 4 in Weight168 lb 76 kg SportSportSwimmingMedal record Representing IranMen s swimmingAsian Indoor Games2007 Macau 50 m breaststroke2009 Hanoi 4 50 m medley relayWest Asian Games2005 Doha 50 m breaststroke2005 Doha 100 m breaststroke2005 Doha 4 100 m medley relayAlirezaei became the first Iranian ever to qualify for an Olympic swimming event without using wildcard when he qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics However he withdrew from the race minutes before he was scheduled to compete against an Israeli 1 2 According to team officials Alirezaei fell ill before the qualifiers for the men s 100 meter breaststroke and was taken to a hospital in Beijing 1 2 Several other media reports stated Alirezaei had been ordered by Iranian authorities to withdraw from the competition to avoid swimming against Israeli Olympic swimmer Tom Be eri 3 4 5 Olympic Committee of Israel General Secretary Efraim Zinger said This isn t the first time this has happened and it doesn t surprise me anymore Politics takes precedence over sport with the Iranians and the Olympic spirit is as far from them as east is far from west My heart goes out to the Iranian athletes There s no place for this kind of behavior in the Olympic movement and it s a shame it continues 5 The Iranian president was quoted by the state news agency as saying that Alirezaei s actions would be recorded in the history of Iranian glories and he declared that Iran consider Alirezaei to be the champion of the 2004 Olympic Games 6 But Giselle Davies director of communications for the International Olympic Committee stated that Alirezaei had confirmed in writing that he withdrew from the men s 100 metre breaststroke because of illness and that the committee would take Alirezaei at his word Iran could have faced sanctions had the IOC decided that Alirezaei pulled out of the race because an Israeli was scheduled to compete 7 Giselle Davies director of communications for the IOC said that Alirezaei withdrew because of sickness and submitted his case in writing to his Federation Davies stated We take both the athlete and the Iranian National Olympic Committee at their word on this 8 Flip Bondy wrote in the New York Daily News This is worthy of expulsion from the Olympic movement Yet such an action would create a precarious schism so the IOC once again has cynically agreed to believe the Iranians medical excuse for Alirezaei Instead the IOC shamelessly shifted into ingenuous mode 9 Alirezaei also withdrew from the 2009 Swimming World Championship in Rome refusing to race in the same heat in the men s 50 meter breaststrokeas Israeli Mickey Malul 4 10 Alirezaei also withdrew from the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships after he was put in the same heat with Israeli Olympic swimmer Gal Nevo 11 He was the only swimmer in the 83 man field who did not start 12 Federation internationale de natation s executive director Cornel Marculescu said FINA was looking into the situation but added If this is the case there s no point in Iran coming to the world championships We don t need these politics in our sport 11 Yitzhak Kramer the head of the Israeli delegation said he was used to such behavior but If someone wants to behave like a child we don t care 11 Alirezaei s withdrawal was compared to a similar incident at the 2004 Athens Games involving Iranian Judo champion Arash Miresmaeili See also EditBoycotts of Israel in individual sportsReferences Edit a b http www iransportspress com news 182 ARTICLE 6353 2008 08 09 html a b Iranian Swimmer Pulls Out of Heat That Includes Israeli The New York Times Iran protests ban on wrestler who threw bout to avoid Israeli The Times of Israel a b Iranian swimmer refuses to race Israeli contender at worlds Just as in Beijing Olympics Iranian swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei s chooses not to compete in heat with Israel s Mickey Malul at world championships in Rome ynet a b Iranian refuses to race Israeli swimmer in Beijing The Jerusalem Post Iranian swimmer quits Olympic race against Israeli CNN Breaking News JTA Jewish amp Israel News Archived from the original on 2008 08 15 Retrieved 2008 08 11 http www kansascity com 495 story 742590 html bare URL Bondy Iran avoids Israel IOC avoids issue New York Daily News Iranian swimmer refuses to compete against Israeli Jewish Telegraphic Agency a b c Iranian swimmer again refuses to compete with Israeli athlete at World Championships World Jewish Congress Iranian swimmer gets sick over Israeli competitor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mohammad Alirezaei amp oldid 1112459476, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
