Iran’s globally-renowned bodybuilder and champion of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB), Baitollah Abbaspour, passed away on Tuesday night (August 25) in a Tehran hospital. He was 36.
Diagnosed with vasculitis, a rare disorder that causes inflammation in blood vessels, he was hospitalized earlier this year, YJC reported.
Abbaspour went into a coma on Tuesday morning and was immediately put on a ventilator, but doctors could not save him and he passed away the same night.
He was the first and, to date, the only Iranian to advance to the final round of the Masters Olympia - an international bodybuilding competition held annually by the IFBB. His performances at various national and international sporting events were outstanding.
Born in Bijar, Kurdistan Province, Abbaspour grew up in Karaj, 20 km west of Tehran. He played soccer as a youth but because of a serious injury he quit and following his uncle’s advice, took up bodybuilding in 1995.
A year later, he won his first title in the Karaj Championship when he was just 16. Although he had a bachelor’s degree in law, he followed his passion and lived his dream, and managed to reach the peak in the sport that he loved.
Abbaspour finished as runner-up in Iran’s 2000 national bodybuilding championships in Isfahan, claimed the title of the 2003 national bodybuilding contests, and shone at the 2003 edition of the World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships in Mumbai, India.
He bagged the third place at the 2005 World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships in Shanghai, China.
His other titles include: IFBB World Amateur Championships and Asian Amateur Championships in 2013, the IFBB Nordic Pro (Finland). He was also a 2-time competitor in Mr. Olympia (2012-2013).
He owned and operated his own gym, where he enjoyed training others to achieve a healthy lifestyle through fitness. A well-known face globally, he was supported and sponsored by Muscle Nutrition LLC., a leading American manufacturer of sports nutrition supplements and skin enhancing products.
