Mahmoud Namjoo

Mahmoud Namjoo
Namjoo in the 1950s
Personal information
BornSeptember 22, 1918
Rasht, Iran[1]
DiedJanuary 21, 1989 (aged 70)
Tehran, Iran[1]
Sport
SportWeightlifting
Medal record
Representing  Iran
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1952 Helsinki 56 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1956 Melbourne 56 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1949 Scheveningen 56 kg
Gold medal – first place 1950 Paris 56 kg
Gold medal – first place 1951 Milan 56 kg
Silver medal – second place 1954 Vienna 56 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1955 Munich 56 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1957 Tehran 56 kg
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1951 New Delhi 56 kg
Silver medal – second place 1958 Tokyo 56 kg

Mahmoud Namjoo (Persian: محمود نامجو, September 22, 1918 – January 21, 1989) was an Iranian bantamweight weightlifter. He competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and placed fifth, second and third, respectively. At the world championships he won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals between 1949 and 1957,[1][2] becoming the first Iranian weightlifter to win a world title. Namjoo was also the first Asian weightlifter to set a world record;[3] during his career he set four: one in clean and jerk in 1949 and three in the total, in 1948, 1949 and 1951.[4]

Namjoo was born in Rasht in 1918 and in 1937 moved to Tehran, where he worked at a carpentry workshop. He took weightlifting in a gym nearby. Besides weightlifting he also competed in bodybuilding, and won the Mr. Universe title in his weight division in 1948, placing fifth in 1955.[5] In 1956 he spent two months working as a weightlifting coach in Turkey. He continued training in his forties and unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the 1960 Olympics.[2] He died of pancreatic cancer aged 70.[3]

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