Iranian Hercules, Hossein Rezazadeh, will not be partcipating in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. The double gold medalist and 105+ kilogram world record holding weightlifter heeded the advice of doctors and decided to give the Olympic medal a pass.

The “Iranian Hercules” is currently the world record holder for Snatch (213kg), Clean and Jerk (263 kg) and total (472kg) in the 105+ weight class. His lifting world records surpass the records in all other weight classes, prompting many to call him “the world’s strongest man.”

When he won his first Olympic gold at the 2000 Sydney Games, Rezazadeh was also breaking a decades-long tradition of Soviet dominance in the sport.

Image: Getty | Via: Beijing 2008