Bahman Golbarnezhad: Paralympics closing ceremony remembers Iranian cyclist who died after crash

The 48-year-old from Shiraz suffered a cardiac arrest died following a collision in Saturday's men’s C4/C5 road race

A moment's silence was held for cyclist Golbarnezhad, who died following a collision in competition on Saturday (AFP/Getty Images)

The closing ceremony of the Rio Paralympic Games paid tribute to Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who died following a crash on Saturday’s penultimate day of competition.

Golbarnezhad, 48, lost control of his bike on a descent in the men’s C4/C5 road race.

The Shiraz-born cyclist, who had his lower left leg amputated following injuries sustained during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, suffered a cardiac arrest while being transported to hospital. He later died in intensive care.

Sir Philip Craven, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), led tributes to the Iranian cyclist, whose death he described as “extremely tragic”.

He said: "Tonight is a celebration of the last 12 days of sport but it's also a very sombre occasion following Saturday's extremely tragic events.

"The passing of Bahman Golbarnezhad has affected us all and left the whole Paralympic movement united in grief."

Flags have been lowered to half-mast across the Paralympic village since news of Golbarnezhad’s death broke on Saturday.

Iran's sitting volleyball team dedicated their gold to Golbarnezhad (Getty)

The Shiraz-born cyclist was also commemorated by the Iran’s sitting volleyball team, who won gold with a 3-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier on Sunday.

Masoud Ashrafi, the secretary general of Iran's National Paralympic Committee, told the Press Association: "There is one bitterness and one sweetness.

“Today we are so happy because the sitting volleyball team were able to win the gold medal. And we are going to present this gold medal to the soul of Bahman Golbarnezhad."

A joint investigation into the circumstances surrounding Golbarnezhad’s crash is currently being carried out by the IPC, Rio 2016 organisers, local police, medical authorities and the UCI, cycling’s governing body.