Behdad Salimi’s Arbitration Application Denied by CAS

In an eight-page decision by an Ad hoc Division assembled at the 2016 Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has officially denied Behdad Salimi and the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s application regarding an overturned lift from the men’s 105+ session in Rio.

The report — found here in its entirety — concerns 2012 Olympic Champion Salimi’s second clean & jerk, which was originally given three white lights by the judges and then overturned by the Jury.

Salimi’s first clean & jerk was turned down by the judges due to press out, and he missed his third lift in the clean portion; this meant he failed to post a total and did not secure a placing for the competition. This came after the Iranian superheavyweight briefly lost and then retook his own snatch world record, ending with 216kg in that portion of the competition.

The decision recapped the Applicants’ request for relief as:

His record for Clean and Jerk to be registered and he could receive his medal based on the athletes’ ranking.

Had Salimi been credited with a successful 245kg clean & jerk, it would have given him a 461kg total, good for second place behind Olympic Champion and Total World Record holder Lasha Talakhadze.

The Respondent’s (the International Weightlifting Federation) request for relief was also summarized:

The Respondent argued that all of the Rules had been complied with and requested that the appeal be dismissed.

Ultimately, the Court sided with the Respondent, and Salimi and the Iranian Committee’s request was dismissed.

Editor’s Note: For anyone interested in the finer points of international sporting arbitration, the Ad hoc Committee’s report is a document worth delving into.

Featured image: @IWFnet on Instagram

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