Iranian officials reportedly awarded $120,000 to an athlete who refused to compete against an Israeli in the Olympics. The amount given over the weekend to Arash Miresmaeli was equal to what he would have received for winning a gold medal. “Miresmaeli’s act was extremely valuable, and therefore we are awarding him the gold medalist award,” Mohsen Mehralizadeh was quoted as saying in the Iranian media. Miresmaeli officially failed to make weight for his judo bout against Ehud Vaks at the Athens Games, but most observers believe that was just a cover.
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