PARIS: Iran’s sitting volleyball star Morteza Mehrzad has finally found a bed big enough to accommodate his 2.46-meter (8 ft 0.85 in) frame at the Paris Paralympics.
His coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani told the Olympics.com website last Friday that the 36-year-old was planning to sleep on the floor of the Olympic Village because — unlike during the last Games in Tokyo — his bed wasn’t big enough.
“In Tokyo, they have made a special bed, but unfortunately not here,” Rezaeigarkani said. “He’s going to lie on the floor.”
Mehrzad, the second-tallest living man in the world, was diagnosed at a young age with acromegaly, a rare condition that leads to the production of excessive growth hormones.
All athletes in the village are sleeping on the same sort of eco-friendly and modulable beds used at the Tokyo Olympics, which have mattresses made from recycled plastic and bases manufactured from cardboard.
The Paris organizing committee told AFP in a statement that they had initially provided two extensions for Mehrzad at the request of the Iranian Paralympic Committee.
“A third was later requested by the Iranian Paralympic Committee which has also been supplied to them,” the statement said. “Paris 2024 is in contact with the Iranian Paralympic Committee and the athlete now has all necessary equipment for his comfort.”
Mehrzad joined Iran’s national sitting volleyball team after the coach spotted him on a reality TV show about people grappling with difficulties in their lives.
During his teenage years, he had a bicycle accident which injured his pelvis and stunted the growth of his right leg.
He won gold medals in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics and earned the Gold Ball for the world’s best player in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
The beds at the Paris and Tokyo Olympics have frequently hit headlines, with reports claiming they were “anti-sex” because they had been designed to be too flimsy to support the weight of two adults.
Many athletes have since debunked the suggestion by posting videos of themselves jumping on the beds which are sturdy enough to support the weight of several people.
Iranian 2.46m para volleyballer struggles to find bed big enough
https://arab.news/vbcd6
Iranian 2.46m para volleyballer struggles to find bed big enough
- His coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani told the Olympics.com website that the 36-year-old was planning to sleep on the floor of the Olympic Village because his bed wasn’t big enough
- Mehrzad, the second-tallest living man in the world, was diagnosed at a young age with acromegaly, a rare condition that leads to the production of excessive growth hormones
Turkish-language drama ‘Yellow Letters’ wins Berlin Film Festival’s top prize
- The report did not say who was to blame for the attacks
BERLIN: “Yellow Letters,” a Turkish-language drama about what happens to a marriage put under extraordinary political pressure, won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear top prize on Saturday night.
The drama filmed in Germany but set in Turkiye follows a married actor and playwright who have to leave behind their comfortable lives after the husband is targeted by the state for posting critical content online.
“I know what (this win) means to my cast and crew who came from Turkiye, who now are getting a visibility that is on an international scale,” Turkish-German director Ilker Catak told Reuters after the award ceremony.
The director, whose previous Berlin entry “The Teachers’ Lounge” was nominated for an Oscar, said it was important that the film was not just about Turkiye, but Germany as well.
“There is a sign that says 1933 and what we’ve seen in this country before, we must never forget,” he said, referring to the year that Adolf Hitler came to power.
This year’s jury president, legendary German director Wim Wenders, praised the winner as “a movie that speaks up very clearly about the political language of totalitarianism.”
In total, 22 films had been in the running.
POLITICAL FESTIVAL
The festival maintained its reputation as the most overtly political of its peers, Venice and Cannes, with the war in Gaza in particular dominating public discussions about the films.
“If this Berlinale has been emotionally charged, that’s not a failure of the Berlinale, and it’s not a failure of cinema,” said festival director Tricia Tuttle at the opening ceremony, using the festival’s nickname.
Wenders used his final appearance as jury president to urge filmmakers and activists to act as allies, not rivals, after his comment that filmmakers should not be political caused Indian novelist Arundhati Roy to pull out.
Several award winners used their speech to express solidarity with the Palestinians and other oppressed peoples.
“The least we can do here is to break the silence and remind them that they are not really alone,” said Turkish filmmaker Emin Alper, whose film “Salvation” took the second-place Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.
Palestinian-Syrian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose “Chronicles From the Siege” won the Perspectives section for emerging filmmakers, criticized the German government for its stance on Gaza despite concerns about crossing a red line.
“I was under a lot of pressure to participate in Berlinale for one reason only, to stand here and say: ‘The Palestinians will be free,’” he said.
SANDRA HUELLER WINS AGAIN
German actor Sandra Hueller, who starred in 2024 Oscar-winning films “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest,” continued her winning streak by taking home best actor for the period piece “Rose,” in which she dresses as a man.
“To me, it’s special because I won my first-ever recognition as an actor in a film at this festival 20 years ago,” Hueller told Reuters, who won best actress in 2006 for “Requiem.”
“Queen at Sea,” a drama that follows French star Juliette Binoche as she deals with her mother’s advanced dementia and its effects on her marriage, won two prizes: the third-place jury prize and best supporting actor, shared by its two elderly performers, Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay.
Director Lance Hammer, who last competed at the festival in 2008, said he hoped that maybe “people will see this and feel some comfort or relief that they’re not alone.”
Director Grant Gee won best director for “Everybody Digs Bill Evans,” a black-and-white biographical drama starring Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie as the US jazz pianist.
“Nina Roza,” about an art curator who returns to Bulgaria to verify whether a child painting prodigy is genuine, won best screenplay while “Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird)” took the prize for outstanding artistic contribution.
