The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Iraq

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This page contains a list of the greatest Iraqi Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 1 of which were born in Iraq. This makes Iraq the birth place of the 119th most number of Athletes behind Peru, and Mozambique.

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Iraqi Athletes of all time. This list of famous Iraqi Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Jafar Salmasi

1. Jafar Salmasi (1918 - 2000)

With an HPI of 42.95, Jafar Salmasi is the most famous Iraqi Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Jafar Salmassi (Persian: محمدجعفر سلماسی, 22 September 1918 – 31 January 2000) was an Iranian weightlifter who won Iran's first Olympic medal at 1948 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Dana Hussain

2. Dana Hussain (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 0.00, Dana Hussain is the 2nd most famous Iraqi Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Dana Hussain Abdul-Razak Al-Khafaji (born January 3, 1986) also known as Danah Hussein is a sprinter on Iraq's national track and field team, coached by Yousif Abdul-Rahman. Due to the International Olympic Committee ban on Iraq competing at the 2008 Summer Olympics, there were concerns that she might be unable to participate, despite qualifying for the 100- and 200-meter sprint events. The ban was, however, subsequently lifted. She was the only athlete on Iraq's 2008 Olympic team to train within the war-torn country. In Beijing she competed at the 100 metres sprint. In her first round heat she placed sixth in a time of 12.36 which was not enough to advance to the second round. In 2011 Athletics at the 2011 Pan Arab Games Abdul-razak won Gold for 100 metres event of 11.88 which she won Silver in a 200 metres sprint on 24.61 and in 400 metres sprint she won Bronze of 55.48. Dana was the Iraqi flag bearer during the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. In 2021, Hussain was suspended for the banned substance cortisone, which she blamed on medications given to her during a rhinoplasty. In 2023, Hussain was given a 2.5 year ban from the sport, starting retroactively from 16 July 2021, due to testing positive for banned substances clenbuterol and stanozolol. The ruling stated that Hussain was given the substances by her coach Karok Salih Mohammed without Hussain's knowledge. Her coach was given a rare lifetime ban from the sport, stating that the antidoping rule violations were "significant and egregious". Hussain holds the Iranian National Record for the indoor 60m.

Photo of Aker Al-Obaidi

3. Aker Al-Obaidi (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 0.00, Aker Al-Obaidi is the 3rd most famous Iraqi Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Aker Al Obaidi (born 21 September 1999) is an Iraqi Greco-Roman wrestler currently based in Austria. He was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo of Vlado Popadić

4. Vlado Popadić (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 0.00, Vlado Popadić is the 4th most famous Iraqi Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Vlado Popadić (born 25 April 1996) is a Montenegrin water polo player. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Dina Ellermann

5. Dina Ellermann (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 0.00, Dina Ellermann is the 5th most famous Iraqi Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Dina Ellermann (née Dina Radha'a; born 20 December 1980) is an Estonian dressage rider. She competed at the 2014 World Equestrian Games, and at three European Dressage Championships (in 2015, 2017 and 2019). She competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, becoming the first Estonian equestrian to do so, and finished 49th individually. Ellermann was born in Baghdad, Iraq to an Estonian mother and an Iraqi father. She graduated from secondary education from Tallinn 21st School in 2000 and in 2005 from Tallinn University, majoring in recreation management. She began training in equestrian sports the age of 11. Ellermann has been the Estonian national champion 9 times (2012–20) and the Estonian interior champion 6 times (2008, 2016–20). She has been a member of the Estonian national team since 2008. Her current best international championship result is 49th place from the 2017 European Championships.

Photo of Ammar Abduljabbar

6. Ammar Abduljabbar (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 0.00, Ammar Abduljabbar is the 6th most famous Iraqi Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Ammar Riad Abduljabbar (born 1 October 1995) is a German boxer. He competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. A native of Iraq, he moved to Hamburg in 2010 and became a German citizen in 2018.

People

Pantheon has 6 people classified as Iraqi athletes born between 1918 and 1999. Of these 6, 5 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Iraqi athletes include Dana Hussain, Aker Al-Obaidi, and Vlado Popadić. The most famous deceased Iraqi athletes include Jafar Salmasi. As of April 2024, 5 new Iraqi athletes have been added to Pantheon including Dana Hussain, Aker Al-Obaidi, and Vlado Popadić.

Living Iraqi Athletes

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Deceased Iraqi Athletes

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Newly Added Iraqi Athletes (2024)

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