Fearing torture and possible execution, Iranian powerlifter quit team in Norway and ran for his life

Amir Assadollahzadeh Iran's top powerlifter

Amir Assadollahzadeh: Fearing torture and possible execution, Iranian powerlifter quit team in Norway and ran for his life

CNN-Dec 20,2021

(CNN)Athletes who are good enough to compete in the world championships are among the very best in their field. They dedicate their lives to the pursuit of their craft, they are proud to represent their countries, and they all dream of returning home with medals around their necks.

But at the IPF World Powerlifting Championships held in November, one athlete wasn’t competing for glory; Iranian Amir Assadollahzadeh says he found himself quite literally running for his life.

The 31-year-old Iranian lifter told CNN that in the middle of the tournament, he felt compelled to abandon his team and flee from his teammates.

He had agonized over a decision that would forever change his life, but at around 3.30 a.m., he had made up his mind and slipped out of his hotel in the Norwegian city of Stavanger, on the North Sea Coast.

“I took what I needed for my journey and left,” Assadollahzadeh recalled. “I quickly ran towards the bus station, but I arrived five minutes too late. It was very dark, and I was very stressed.”

As he waited, he was constantly re-evaluating his decision, and paranoia was also now creeping in; should anybody come looking for him, he felt exposed and vulnerable.

“I had no choice,” he explained, “I tried to run the street directly in front of the hotel at full speed until I finally reached a gas station with a store right next to it. I asked the man working there to get me a taxi.”

Using his cell phone, Assadollahzadeh had planned out his journey to Norway’s capital, Oslo, but already he was having to think on the fly. He took a cab to the next city and waited for several hours to catch the bus to Oslo.

But he couldn’t shake the fear that he was being tracked. “I was very stressed and very worried that they might find me,” he said, “At one of the stops, I got off the bus and threw my phone in the water.”