Volleyball Player Morteza Mehrzad Named Paralympic Athlete of July

Morteza Mehrzad from Iran’s sitting volleyball team has been named the Allianz Athlete of the Month for July after his spectacular performance in Iran’s gold medal victory at the 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands.

At 2.46m tall, Mehrzad was at his dominant best to help Iran regain the men’s world title by beating defending champion Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in the final, Paralympic.org reported. The International Paralympic Committee revealed the shortlist for July’s Athlete of the Month on August 1 at its website where the public could vote for the winner.

Mehrzad received 60% of the public vote. Brazilian thrower Elizabeth Gomes was second in the polls with 35%. Swedish wheelchair tennis player Stefan Olsson, British wheelchair-racer, Kare Adenegan, and Dutch wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot were also nominated.

Mehrzad won a gold medal in the 2016 Rio Paralymics after beating old rival Bosnia and Herzegovina in the finals.