The Iranian judo star who was ordered not to fight an Israeli has defected to Germany.
Saeid Mollaei, aged 27, was afraid to return to Iran following the world championships in Japan.
The defending champion had defied an order from Iranian sports authorities to drop out of the under-81kg competition.
The Iranian National Olympic Committee had initially promised to respect the non-discrimination rules but Mollaei was told to pull out because he could face Sagi Muki from Israel in the final.
Iran's deputy sports minister Davar Zani made the order directly, by phone, to Mollaei's coach.