Iranian Meisam Amini, a wrestling coach in Lyon: "Sport is a powerful vector of peace"

Meisam Amini speaks with a heavy heart. Several hundred kilometers from his native Iran, the Lyon-based athlete watched the clash between Iranian and Israeli forces with anguish and fear ten days ago. While the clashes between Tehran and Tel Aviv have now ended after twelve days and nights of intense violence, this conflict is a reminder of how much peace in the Middle East hangs by a thread.

" It was predictable, with the threats coming from both countries ," laments Meisam Amini, coach of Lyon Saint-Priest Lutte for several years. Contacts with his relatives in Iran continue " from time to time ," despite the instability of the internet network and regular outages.

" My friends, my family and my entourage are worried. They are afraid for the future and fear a new outbreak of war ," he shares. Before warning: " The situation in Iran is very particular. (...) Everyone is a little lost at the moment, and the situation is still not back to normal or stabilized ."

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" These wounds last a long time ."

Meisam Amini, wrestling coach in Lyon

A former world vice-champion and two-time Asian wrestling champion, the 41-year-old Iranian spreads a message of peace wherever he can. " The people of the countries concerned are suffering psychologically, morally, and economically. These wounds remain in these countries for a long time ," he adds.

Hailing from northern Tehran, more precisely from the Mazandaran province, where “ 80% of the members of the Iranian national wrestling team ” come from, Meisam Amini has met athletes and coaches of very different nationalities and cultures throughout his career. This has shaped him.

" It also reinforced my belief that sport, particularly wrestling, can be a powerful vehicle for peace and unity, capable of transcending political and cultural boundaries ." Since arriving in France in 2010, this burly wrestler (1.81 m) has also had the opportunity to showcase his talents on the mats, becoming the Rhône-Alpes champion and winning the Clermont-Ferrand tournament.

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But it is above all through learning that Meisam Amini intends to pass on his human values. In addition to his role as a coach at the Lyon Saint-Priest club, the Iranian has decided to cross borders to develop freestyle wrestling on the African continent. This choice has been made since his week-long visit to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to lead a training camp with the country's best wrestlers.

" They have great potential, but unfortunately their resources are limited and they need support ," laments the coach. He and his friend Ramzi Jendoubi, president of the Lyon Saint-Priest club, recently contacted humanitarian organizations to continue this effort. His trip also included supervising a training course for mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters within the Eric Favre Nation league.

Freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling: what's the difference? Meisam Amini is a specialist in freestyle wrestling, a less developed sport in France compared to Greco-Roman wrestling. The latter is a form of wrestling where only holds above the waist are allowed. Wrestlers must use only their arms. This is unlike freestyle wrestling—the most popular in Iran—which allows them to attack their opponent's entire body. In both cases, the objective is the same: to pin their opponent's shoulder blades to the ground. As is the format: the bout takes place in two three-minute periods with a 30-second break between each. Both forms are men's events at the Olympics. Women, on the other hand, are only pitted against each other in freestyle wrestling.

However, this international shift does not relegate Lyon wrestling to the background. His objectives: " to set up a joint training camp in Lyon, bringing together wrestlers from different countries " and " to organize training camps between wrestlers from Lyon and high-level Iranian wrestlers ," continues the ambitious coach, who hopes to raise the " high potential " level of wrestling in France.

With the qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games in sight, of course. Before that, " in-depth work on technique and professional preparation " will be essential if they hope to stand up to the world's best. And what better way to learn than from a wrestler from Iran, a country that has consistently won Olympic wrestling medals since 1952.

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