Sculpture Unveiling Ceremony at the United States Sports Academy

Description

The North American Iranian Friendship Society is presenting the United States Sports Academy’s American Sport Art Museum & Archives (ASAMA) with a bronze sculpture of the late legendary Iranian wrestler and national hero Jahan Pahlavan Takhti. Created by sculptor Dr. Alireza Khaghani of Tehran, the three-foot, 110-pound statue depicts the Olympic and World Champion wrestler from the waist up giving a wave of salutation and celebration. The wrestler’s given name was Gholamreza Takhti, but he was popularly called “Jahan Pahlavan,” which means “World Champion.” He was given this name for his success in wrestling and his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship during competition. The Tehran native was known throughout his home country not only for his athletic accomplishments, but for being a hero of common people and for supporting the poor and downtrodden. Born in 1930, Takhti won his first Iranian championship in 1950, and went on to become the highest ranked wrestler in the history of Iranian wrestling. He won one gold (1956 Melbourne) and two silver medals (1952 Helsinki, 1960 Rome) in Olympic Games, as well as two gold (1959 Tehran, 1961 Yokohama) and two silver medals (1951 Helsinki, 1962 Toledo) in World Championships. He is in the United World Wrestling (formerly FILA) Hall of Fame. He competed in multiple weight classes throughout his career. Takhti died in 1968 at the age of 37 but remains one of Iran’s greatest sports legends and a beloved national figure. Founded in 1984, ASAMA is dedicated to the preservation of sports art, history, and literature. The ASAMA collection is composed of more than 1,800 works of sport art across a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, assemblages, prints and photographs. The museum is open free to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. For more information, go to www.asama.org. The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports. The Academy is based in Daphne, Ala. For more information, call (251) 626-3303 or visit www.ussa.edu.