TEHRAN – Emamali Habib, Iran’s first gold medal winner in the Olympic Games, died on Sunday.

He died in Sari, Mazandaran Province, after a prolonged illness.

Habibi won Iran’s first gold medal in the history in the 1956 Olympic Games.

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

Habibi also won three gold medals in 1959, 1961, and 1962 World Wrestling Championships.

The Tehran Times extends its deepest sympathies to Habibi’s family, loved ones, and friends during this time of loss.