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Iranian para-cyclist dies in crash during race
RIO DE JANEIRO: An Iranian Paralympic cyclist died on Saturday after an accident in the road race on the penultimate day of the Rio Games, officials said.
RIO DE JANEIRO: An Iranian Paralympic cyclist died on Saturday after an accident in the road race on the penultimate day of the Rio Games, officials said.
Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, fell during the event and died of his injuries despite an attempt to take him to the hospital for treatment, officials said.
“He unfortunately passed away,” International Paralympic Committee (IPC) spokesman Craig Spence told AFP.
Golbarnezhad’s accident occurred during the more than two-hour C4-5 road race for athletes with varying disabilities but still able to bicycle.
He was in the first section of a mountainous descent when he fell.
“The athlete received treatment at the scene and was in the process of being taken to the athlete hospital when he suffered a cardiac arrest,” the IPC said in a statement.
“The ambulance then diverted to the nearby Unimed Rio Hospital in Barra where he passed away soon after arrival.”
President Hassan Rouhani in a tweet in Farsi said “the demise of our dear cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad immersed us all in deep sorrow. Rest in peace.”
Paralympic officials said Golbarnezhad’s family in Iran had been informed and the Iranian team was also told the news during a meeting at the Athletes’ Village.
