Hossein Ghafourizadeh

After initially playing football while at school Hossein Ghafourizadeh switched to being a track athlete, a sport in which he won multiple titles. At a school competition in Tehran Ghafourizadeh won the 800 metres title and finished in third place in the 1,500 metres. This was followed by him winning the 800 metres title at the national championships, also held in Tehran. At another school competition Ghafourizadeh won gold in the 800 metres, 1,500 metres, 3,000 metres, and the 4x100 metres relay.

Ghafourizadeh repeated his success at a friendly competition in Iraq, winning gold in the 800 metres, 1,500 metres, and the 4x100 metres relay, where he was named the star of the tournament. After breaking the Iranian record in the 400 metres Ghafourizadeh was selected to represent Iran at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He finished in last place in his heat, however, and was eliminated from the event. Two years later he set an Iranian record in the 800 metres at the 1966 Asian Games.

Personal Best: 400 – 49.3 (1964).