Last updated July 24, 2024 – 4:31pm
The BBC World Service will launch new seasons of Amazing Sports Stories and Mostanad with The Legend of Takti in English and Farsi.
The BBC World Service English and BBC News Persian are collaborating on a podcast telling the story of Gholamreza Takhti, the iconic Iranian wrestler whose sudden death in 1968 shocked the country.
This is the personal journey of presenter Rana Rakhimpour, who tells the story of an athlete who was the first Iranian wrestler to win a medal in an international competition. He was also an Olympic and World Champion and was considered the embodiment of the Iranian spirit.
He was beloved even by his enemies, and in January 1968, Takhti was found dead in a Tehran hotel room.
Rahimpour explores the complex relationship between Iran and its heroes, and how legends, myths and rumours can sometimes obscure the characters at the heart of the story.
Speaking about her connection with Takhti's story, Rakhimpour said, “There was a man I thought I had known all my life, but I realised I knew almost nothing about him. I felt an urge to uncover the truth and answer the question of who was Gholamreza Takhti?”
Takhti is still seen as a man of strength, yet gentle and compassionate at the same time. Sport, politics and power are at the heart of what it means to be a national hero, and that is why Takhti continues to inspire Iranians. Whatever the truth, it seems everyone has their own version of Takhti.
For UK audiences, Amazing Sport Stories: Legend of Takhti will be available a week earlier on BBC Sounds from Monday 19th August, and on most other podcast platforms from Monday 26th August.
There will be three episodes, released weekly, and the series will air weekly on BBC World Service Radio from Saturday 5 October.
