In 1948, Iran sent its first Olympic team to the London.
The nation’s young Shah, who had set the country on a course of modernisation, saw the ’48 games as an opportunity to reintroduce Iran to the world.
Weightlifter Ja’afar Salmassi, a teacher by profession, won Iran’s first Olympic medal – a bronze in the featherweight class.
On Sunday, Samassi’s athletic heirs – the men’s 56kg weightlifters – compete in London for 2012 Olympic gold.
The BBC Persian Service’s Khashayar Joneidi tells Salmassi’s story.
