The dream of winning only Canada’s second Olympic gold medal in men’s wrestling is being forged in Anmore.
But it will have to wait to be realized until 2028 in Los Angeles.
That’s because Peimen Biabani, Canada’s national champion in the 65 kg weight class, is not yet eligible to compete for his adopted country on an Olympic mat.
Biabani is originally from Tehran, Iran.
There, he was a superstar in that country’s national sport.
Biabani won the junior Asian championships in 2015, just three years after taking up wrestling. In 2016, he was the junior world champion in the 60 kg weight class.
To continue his development, Biabani attended a special sports academy that allowed him to train full-time 15 days out of 20 while also getting an education. All his expenses were paid for, as was his travel to competitions in countries like Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia.
But when decisions within Iran’s wrestling federation got in the way of Biabani’s further advancement, he knew it was time to forge another path to glory in his sport.
A chance discussion at a meet in Siberia with Dave McKay, of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, pointed Biabani to Canada. He talked to his family, who gave their blessing. Wrestling’s governing body in Iran also agreed to the move.
Then the COVID pandemic hit.
Biabani was forced to stay put for another year, training, staying optimistic but rarely competing at important meets like the 2021 world championships.
“It was real hard for me,” Biabani said of his delayed dream.
Meanwhile, in Canada, McKay worked diligently to secure the paperwork that would allow the young Iranian to live, train and compete in his chosen destination. He reached out to the close-knit community of wrestlers across the country to help fund Biabani’s move, find him a place to live and get him settled when he arrived.
“There was a lot of things to set up,” McKay said, including the hiring of lawyers to help Biabani navigate the tricky and lengthy process of attaining the proper visas as well as an international transfer from Iran to Canada in his sport.
When Biabani arrived in Canada on a visitor’s visa in late 2021, he didn’t know any English, and without status to compete for his new country, no funding to support himself.
But, said McKay, he knew the common language of the wrestling community.
An old contact of the coach found Biabani a family in Anmore where he could live. He volunteered to help out with coaching between his training sessions at Burnaby Mountain, as well as at other wrestling clubs at Coquitlam’s Pinetree Community Centre and in the Fraser Valley. To support himself and pay his expenses to get to competitions he took on labour jobs like flooring and construction.
“It was very hard for me,” said Biabani of the juggling required to stay on course with his training while managing the day-to-day challenges of life in a new country. “I don’t have any choice but to push myself.”
Results started to happen, at meets like the SFU Open.
In October 2023, Biabani achieved permanent residency and in January he finally secured the international transfer that allows him to compete for Canada. He promptly won a silver medal at the 2024 Pan Am championships but he was injured just prior to the final so couldn’t compete for gold. Last month, he captured the Canadian national championship in his weight class in Ottawa. In May, he’ll try to qualify for the world championships that will be held in Albania in October.
But until Biabani becomes a full citizen, he’s not allowed to wrestle for Canada at Olympic trials so he won’t be in Paris this summer. Nor is he eligible for full financial backing from the Canadian government.
Biabani said it’s a tough pill to swallow. But he tries to stay positive and focused on the long-range goal of wrestling for a gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028.
“Four more years is nothing,” he said, adding the challenges of the past few years have given him the mental fortitude and patience to stick with his program.
“I moved here for my dream.”
McKay has every confidence his protégé will be successful.
“He didn’t have the chance, but now he has the chance,” he said, adding wrestlers usually reach the peak of their form when they’re in their early 30s; Biabani will be 31 in 2028.
“His time is now,”McKay said. “Every day counts to make it better for his wrestling.”
