Iran readies for Olympics, but 'Iranian Hercules' to miss games
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
State television says Iran is sending to the Beijing Olympics its largest contingent of athletes since the 1976 Montreal games but that the country's best known athlete, weightlifter "Iranian Hercules" Hossein Rezazadeh, will stay home.
In a Thursday report, it says the superheavyweight Rezazadeh, who won gold in Sydney and Athens, has been advised by doctors to stay home to avoid "heavy and stressful activity."
Rezazadeh hasn't competed on the international stage since injuring a knee in a traffic accident last year.
The 53 athletes going to Beijing include three women who will compete in taekwondo, shooting and boating. Iranian women are allowed to compete in sports that require taking off their Islamic headdress, but only in female-only arenas.
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