Iranian Cycling Legend Ali Zangiabadi Passed Away at Age 67

Iranian Cycling Legend Ali Zangiabadi took his final breath on Saturday. Zangiabadi had been battling for a long time with a disease. The legend of cycling will be put to rest on Monday and his final rituals will take place on that day. Zangiabadi was a legend in Iran. Not only did he win accolades for himself, but also brought glory to Iran. Although he was not able to win any Olympic medals, he did manage to win many Asian Championship medals.

However Zangiabadi tried his best to keep the fight going. He suffered for a long time with a life-threatening disease. Moreover, with an increase in the age, the fighting abilities of the body go down. With the loss of Zangiabadi, the entire world mourned his loss. Iran not only lost a legendary cyclist but also a fantastic administrator. During his administrative period, Zangiabadi made a good impact as well .

Plethora of Records and Achievements

Ali won a lot of medals and created records while he was a professional cyclist. Just to mention a few of them, Ali won 2 Bronze Medals in the 1982 Asian Games. He won one of them for Road Race and the other one for team time trial. After four years in 1986, Zangiabadi again won a gold medal.

“Tehran Times offers its heartfelt condolence to his bereaved family.”

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This time around Zangiabadi won a gold medal for 30 km points race. The points race is a track cycling event with many riders starting at the same time. From 1984 to 2008, it was an Olympic sport for men and from 1996 to 2008 for women. Zangiabadi became a member of the Iranian Cycling Association after retiring from professional cycling. He became the President of the Iran Cycling Federation. During Zangiabadi’s tenure, Iranian cyclists managed to win medals as well.

Huge Loss for the Iran Cycling Fraternity

After the death of Ali Zangiabadi, Iran Cycling fraternity lost a legend. The amount of experience Zangiabadi had was unparalleled. Winning gold medals is not easy, and it takes lots of effort. However Zangiabadi won three medals during his cycling days. Two of them were bronze medals and one gold medal. Zangiabadi’s struggle may have come to an end, but his passing will be a heavy burden for both his loved ones and the cycling community in Iran as well.

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