The fourth contingent of Iran's Olympic athletes returned home from the Paris 2024 Games to a warm reception at Imam Khomeini International Airport on August 8 evening, as reported by IRNA.

According to the report, the group, which included athletes and officials from various disciplines, was greeted by enthusiastic crowds upon their arrival in Tehran.

Iran’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was commendable, with the nation securing a total of 12 medals, marking its second-best Olympic performance following the London 2012 Games, where it won 13 medals. This achievement placed Iran 17th in the overall medal rankings. However, according to statistics from composeMD, Iran ranked first globally in terms of medals per athlete, with a ratio of 0.29.

The group arriving at the airport included members of the national taekwondo, rowing (calm waters) and weightlifting teams, along with their technical staff, officials from their respective federations, and representatives from the wrestling federation.

Among those welcoming them were families of the athletes, as well as government officials, including Vice President for Women's Affairs Zahra Behrouz Azar, head of Iran’s Sports Fraction Mohammad Mahdi Farvardin, deputy head of Women's Sports of Ministry of Sport and Youth Zahra Kazemipour.

The Iranian team brought home three gold medals (one in taekwondo and two in wrestling), six silver medals (two in taekwondo, one in wrestling and three in freestyle wrestling), and three bronze medals (one each in taekwondo, wrestling and freestyle wrestling).

Notably, two female athletes were among the medallists.

Some experts have noted that Iran's success in wrestling and freestyle wrestling may have been influenced by the absence of Russian athletes. The IOC banned Russia and Belarus from the Olympics due to their involvement in the war in Ukraine. The presence of these strong competitors may have affected the final results in these categories.

One of the most emotionally charged moments of the games for Iranian fans came during a taekwondo match on August 8, when Iran’s Nahid Kiani faced off against Kimia Alizadeh, an Iranian-born athlete now representing Bulgaria.

Kiani won the match, but both athletes later secured medals, with Kiani taking silver and Alizadeh bronze.

Alizadeh defected from Iran in 2020, citing government "hypocrisy" as her reason for leaving the previous Olympics in Japan, and later stood on the Refugee Team in the Tokyo Olympics, where she won a medal.