TEHRAN – Emamali Habib, Iran’s first Olympic gold medalist, was laid to rest on Wednesday in his hometown of Babol, Mazandaran Province, north of Iran.

The freestyle wrestler, nicknamed the Tiger of Mazandaran, died at the age of 94 on Sunday.

Habibi won Iran’s first Olympic gold medal in history at the 1956 Olympic Games. He also claimed three gold medals at the World Wrestling Championships in 1959, 1961, and 1962.

Several Iranian wrestlers attended the funeral, including Olympics gold medalists Rasoul Khadem, Hassan Yazdani, Ghasem Rezaei, two-time Olympic medalist Amirhossein Zare; and Fardin Hedayati, a world junior champion.