Mohamed Mehdi Yaghoubi was inspired to pursue his interest in sport after hearing of his Iranian compatriot Jafar Salmasi’s bronze-medal win at the 1948 London Olympics. It was wrestling, however, rather than weightlifting that interested Yaghoubi and, after only two years, he became the bantamweight freestyle national runner-up. He made his major international début at the 1951 World Championships, where he took home the bronze medal, and then won his first of four consecutive national titles the following year, which qualified him to represent Iran at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. There, he was eliminated in the third round of the competition.
Although Yaghoubi continued to be victorious at home, he came in fifth at the 1954 World Championships. At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, however, he won the silver medal behind Turkey’s Mustafa Dağıstanlı. He retired from active competition after his third Olympics, in 1960, and later worked as a coach in the United States.
Islamic Republic of Iran