Death of cyclist first for Games
The Paralympics were rocked by tragedy on Saturday, after Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad died in hospital following a crash during the road race and a subsequent cardiac arrest.
It is the first in-competition death of an athlete in the history of the Paralympics, which began in 1960.
“This is an absolutely tragic day for the Paralympic movement and the Games here in Rio,” said International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven on Saturday.
The 48-year-old married father of one son was competing in his second Paralympics and his second event of these Games. At about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, he was riding down a steep section of the course, about 35 kilometres into the race when he crashed and suffered serious neck injuries.
“He was faced with a very steep part of the circuit in a U-turn section. He had lost control. He hit the wall which was placed there,” said Masoud Ashrafi, secretary-general of the National Paralympic Committee of Iran. “Two minutes later the ambulance arrived . ... They brought him to the hospital. For 45 minutes they tried to save him but unfortunately they couldn’t.”
Iranian sports officials notified the cyclist’s wife and child by phone on Saturday evening.
“They are having a very difficult situation,” said Ashrafi.