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After World War II and for most of the 1950s, Iran had in Mahmoud Namdjou one of the best lifters in its history. Born in 1918 in Rasht (on the Caspian Sea coast), he moved in 1937 to Tehran and started working as a carpenter. Despite his tiny weight (he competed in the 56kg category), he was strong and took weightlifting in a gym close to his workplace. In parallel, he also competed in bodybuilding, but it was in our sport that the results made him a star in the country. At the 1948 London Games, he made his first Olympic appearance, but he finished fifth, with 82.5-82.5-122.5-287.5. In the two subsequent editions, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956, he did much better: in Finland, he was second (90-95-122.5-307.5), while in Australia he clinched bronze in 100-102.5-130-332.5. At the World Championships, his achievements were even more impressive: three gold medals in 1949, 1950, and 1951, one silver in 1954, and two bronze in 1955 and 1957 (this last one at home, in the Iranian capital, where he got his best Total at the IWF showcase with 97.5-97.5-125-320). With two more podium presences at the Asian Games – first in 1951 and second in 1958 – Namdjou was also quite successful in establishing new World Records. He improved 11 global marks during his career, including three in the Snatch, five in the Clean and Jerk, and three in the Total (with three lifts). With his gold medal in 1949, he became the first Iranian world champion in weightlifting (at Olympic level, this honour goes to Nassiri in 1968), setting the pace for a tradition of great achievements for the country in our sport. In 1960, he still tried to qualify for the Rome Olympics, but he didn’t manage to take part in his fourth Games. Namdjou died in 1989, aged 70.