Jamal Valizadeh

Jamal Valizadeh (; born 26 September 1991) is an Iranian wrestler. He was selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team.

Biography Valizadeh was born in 1991 in Kermanshah, Iran. He grew up in the village of Takhti and attended school in Sanandaj. He was the only boy of 34 cousins who was initially not a wrestler; instead, he competed in handball as a goalkeeper, before being convinced to try out the sport at age 11. He trained with his family each day and joined a club in Takhti, later beating the regional champion in his first year in the sport. and won the national championship in the 55 kg category each year from 2011 to 2013. He witnessed "the police [...] hitting the women and children," and intervened. He arrived in France on 1 January 2016 and later stayed at a shelter in Le Mans, receiving political refugee status. He received an International Olympic Committee (IOC) scholarship and began training with the French national team multiple times a week.