Gholamreza Takhti (August 27, 1930 – January 7, 1968) was an Iranian Olympic Gold-Medalist wrestler and Varzesh-e Bastani (
Persian Traditional Sport) practitioner. Popularly nicknamed
Jahān Pahlevān ; "The World Champion") because of his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship (
Javanmardi in Iranian culture), he was the most popular athlete of Iran in the 20th century, although dozens of Iranian athletes have won more international medals than he did. Takhti is still a hero to many Iranians. He is listed in the UWW wrestling hall of fame.