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Armenian Olympians: Ancient Olympiads to London 2012
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http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/08/13/armenian-olympians-ancient-olympiads-to-2012-london-olympics/
Posted by Arman
Sanentzon August
13, 2012
Long before Baron Pierre de Coubertin, after a nearly 1200-year hiatus,
organized the Modern Olympics of `Athens 1896,' the Ancient Olympics that
began in 776 B.C. honored countless athletes every four years, including
some famous Armenians.
[image: Memorial plate at Olympia Greece recording Armenian Olympians:
Ancient Olympiads to London
2012]
Memorial plateat
Olympia, Greece recording Olympic win in 385 A.D. by King Ardavazt
Among them, Prince Varazdat Arshakuni (Õ=8EÕ¡Ö=80Õ¡Õ¦Õ¤Õ¡Õ¿ in Armenian; Latinized as *
Varastades*), later King of Armenia, was the last known recorded Ancient
Olympic victor who won the boxing event at the 291st Olympiad (in 385
A.D.). A memorial plate, now in display at the Olympic Museum in Olympia,
Greece, details his win as the most honored champion of the 291st Olympiad.
At the 265th Olympiad, 104 years earlier (281 A.D.), another of the famous
non-Greek winners (in wrestling) was the Armenian King Trdat III (286-342
A.D), who in 301 A.D. adopted Christianity as the state religion, making
Armenia the first Christian nation. The exploits of both kings were
chronicled by the Armenian Historian Movses Khorenatsi (Moses of Khoren) in
his *History of Armenia*.
The end of the Ancient Olympics came in 393 A.D., when the Roman Emperor
Theodosius I, a convert to Christianity, legally abolished the games as an
old `pagan' religious rite. In 1998, the International Olympic Academy
installed in Olympia a marble bust by sculptor Levon Tokmajyan, honoring
the Armenian King Varazdat Arshakuni (385 A.D.).
The first Armenian Olympic champion of the Modern Olympics was Hrant
Shahinyan (1923-96), born in the village of Gyulagarak, who at age 28
competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a member of the USSR Artistic
Gymnastic National Team, receiving two gold medals in gymnastic rings and
team combined exercises,
and two silvers in gymnastics individual men's all-around and the pommeled
horse. He was also a seven-time USSR and two-time world champion. Among the
other Armenian athletes competing alongside Shahinyan-all representing the
Soviet Union-were Albert Azaryan and Artur Akopyan.
Armenia was represented as a unified country for the first
timeat
the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as part of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS). With only five athletes participating, the team won three
gold medals in weightlifting, wrestling, and sharp-shooting. Armenia has
been competing as an official independent nation since the 1994 Lillehammer
Winter Games.
[image: Marble bust of King Ardavazt by sculptor Levon Armenian Olympians:
Ancient Olympiads to London
2012]
Marble bust of King Ardavazt by sculptor Levon Tokmajyan installed in
Olympia, Greece, in 1998.
In recent years, Armenian athletes have succeed mainly in weightlifting and
wrestling. In fact, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, medals awarded were three
in weightlifting, two in wrestling, and one in boxing, all bronze.
The Republic of Armenia was proudly represented by 25 athletes at the XXX
Olympiad, the 2012 London Summer Games, encompassing a variety of sports,
with competitors in wrestling, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, artistic
gymnastics, judo, taekwondo, and athletics. Of the 25 athletes there, 7
were competing in wrestling and 6 in weightlifting.
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian was in attendance at the London Opening
Ceremony on Fri., July 27. On Sun., July 30 he attended the Armenian
Open-Air Festival, organized by the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in honor of Armenia's athletes
participating in London 2012. He also watched some of the athletes perform
on Sat., July 28, including the boxing match for men's middle (75 kg.)
between Andranik Hakobyan and the American Terrell Gausha. Hakobyan was
born in Echmiadzin in 1985. As the Americans in the crowd cheered for
Gausha, the overbearing cries of `Ar-men-ia' could be heard from the other
fans. The match ended in a 3-4 loss after the referee called an end to the
contest.
Several other Armenian athletes were competing for countries other than
Armenia. Among them, Arsen Galstyan, representing Russia, won that
country's first gold medal-in men's 60 kg. judo category on July 28,
wrestling the gold from the Japanese contender, Hiroaki Hiraoka. The same
day, another Armenian in the same category, Hovhannes Davtyan representing
Armenia, born in 1983 in Gyumri, was eliminated in an earlier round. Born
in Soviet Armenia in 1989, Galstyan was trained at an early age after his
move to Russia. His siblings, Arman and Tigran, also compete in the same
sport. When asked about his training routine, Galstyan reportedly said,
`When I have nobody to train with, I recruit one of my brothers, it seems
to me that my victories give them additional stimulation to train and win.'
Famed professional tennis player and former world no. 3 David Nalbandian,
who is competing for Argentina, was born in Unquillo, Cordoba Province,
Argentina in 1982 to a mother of Italian origin and a father of Armenian
origin. He was introduced to tennis as a young boy, playing in a cement
court in their backyard built by his Armenian grandfather, and became a
professional tennis player at 18. He was eliminated in the first round of
the men's singles and doubles on July 28. His doubles partner was Eduardo
Schwank.
[image: Hrant Shahinyan Armenian Olympians: Ancient Olympiads to London
2012]
Hrant Shahinyan, representing the U.S.S.R. earned 2 gold and 2 silver
medals in Gymnastics at 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Artur Ayvazian, born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1973, competed as a shooter for
the Ukraine team, qualifying 21st for the 50 m. rifle prone on Aug. 3, and
10th for the 50 m. rifle 3 positions after a shoot off on Aug. 6. Four
years ago, Artur won gold in the 50 m. rifle prone at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics.
Tvin Moumjoghlian, representing Lebanon in women's singles table tennis,
was eliminated in the preliminary round on July 28. Born in Beirut in 1989,
she started playing table tennis at age nine, under the tutelage of her
father Raffi Moumjoghlian, a professional table tennis player and Lebanese
champion. Tvin Moumjoghlian trained in Vienna for the 2012 London Games and
has studied economics at the American University of Beirut.
Also competing on the Lebanese team is sprinter Gretta Taslakian, born in
Ghadir, Lebanon, in 1985 to parents of Lebanese and Armenian origin. Her
specialty is the running the 200 m. sprint and she has competed in the 2004
and 2008 Olympic Games, as well as in numerous other championships. On Aug.
6 she qualified for 8th place in round 1 of the women's 200 m. sprint.
An Armenian can also be found on a United States team, but not as a
competitor. Adam Krikorian is the head coach of the U.S. women's water polo
team. The team received attention after beating Italy 9-6 in the
preliminary round. They'll face Australia in the semifinals. Krikorian is
also the water polo coach at UCLA.
On Sun., Aug. 5, Armenia won its first Olympic medal of the 2012 London
Games. The bronze medal was awarded to Hripsime Khurshudyan, who competed
in women's weightlifting +75 kg. Born in Kasakh in 1987, this was
Khurshudyan's first medal awarded at an international competition.
Later in the evening on Sunday, Armenia won its second Olympic medal of the
2012 London Games, this time a silver medal which was awarded to Arsen
Julfalakyan, in 74 kg. Greco-Roman wrestling. Born in Gyumri in 1987, he is
the son of Armenia's national wrestling coach Levon Julfalakyan, who won
gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Arsen Julfalakyan, who had placed 10th at
the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeated Azerbaijan's Emin Ahmadov in the
semifinal round, but lost to Russia's Roman Vlasov in the finals. In
previous years he won the 2009 European championship, plus a silver and a
bronze at the 2010 and 2011 World championships.
On the evening of Monday August 7, Armenia brought its medal count at the
London Games up to three, with a bronze awarded to Artur Aleksanyan, born
in Gyumri in 1991, in men's 96kg Greco-Roman Wrestling. Artur defeated
Cenk Ildem of Turkey 3-0 in the Repechage Round 2, before out-wrestling
Yunior Estrada Falcon of Cuba 3-0 for the bronze. Earlier in the
afternoon, one of his team-mates Hovhannes Varderesyan, born in Yerevan in
1989, competing in men's 66kg Greco-Roman Wrestling, was defeated in
Repechage Round 1 by the wrestler Pedro Isaac Mulens Herrera from Cuba.
From: Baghdasarian
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/08/13/armenian-olympians-ancient-olympiads-to-2012-london-olympics/
Posted by Arman
Sanentzon August
13, 2012
Long before Baron Pierre de Coubertin, after a nearly 1200-year hiatus,
organized the Modern Olympics of `Athens 1896,' the Ancient Olympics that
began in 776 B.C. honored countless athletes every four years, including
some famous Armenians.
[image: Memorial plate at Olympia Greece recording Armenian Olympians:
Ancient Olympiads to London
2012]
Memorial plateat
Olympia, Greece recording Olympic win in 385 A.D. by King Ardavazt
Among them, Prince Varazdat Arshakuni (Õ=8EÕ¡Ö=80Õ¡Õ¦Õ¤Õ¡Õ¿ in Armenian; Latinized as *
Varastades*), later King of Armenia, was the last known recorded Ancient
Olympic victor who won the boxing event at the 291st Olympiad (in 385
A.D.). A memorial plate, now in display at the Olympic Museum in Olympia,
Greece, details his win as the most honored champion of the 291st Olympiad.
At the 265th Olympiad, 104 years earlier (281 A.D.), another of the famous
non-Greek winners (in wrestling) was the Armenian King Trdat III (286-342
A.D), who in 301 A.D. adopted Christianity as the state religion, making
Armenia the first Christian nation. The exploits of both kings were
chronicled by the Armenian Historian Movses Khorenatsi (Moses of Khoren) in
his *History of Armenia*.
The end of the Ancient Olympics came in 393 A.D., when the Roman Emperor
Theodosius I, a convert to Christianity, legally abolished the games as an
old `pagan' religious rite. In 1998, the International Olympic Academy
installed in Olympia a marble bust by sculptor Levon Tokmajyan, honoring
the Armenian King Varazdat Arshakuni (385 A.D.).
The first Armenian Olympic champion of the Modern Olympics was Hrant
Shahinyan (1923-96), born in the village of Gyulagarak, who at age 28
competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a member of the USSR Artistic
Gymnastic National Team, receiving two gold medals in gymnastic rings and
team combined exercises,
and two silvers in gymnastics individual men's all-around and the pommeled
horse. He was also a seven-time USSR and two-time world champion. Among the
other Armenian athletes competing alongside Shahinyan-all representing the
Soviet Union-were Albert Azaryan and Artur Akopyan.
Armenia was represented as a unified country for the first
timeat
the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as part of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS). With only five athletes participating, the team won three
gold medals in weightlifting, wrestling, and sharp-shooting. Armenia has
been competing as an official independent nation since the 1994 Lillehammer
Winter Games.
[image: Marble bust of King Ardavazt by sculptor Levon Armenian Olympians:
Ancient Olympiads to London
2012]
Marble bust of King Ardavazt by sculptor Levon Tokmajyan installed in
Olympia, Greece, in 1998.
In recent years, Armenian athletes have succeed mainly in weightlifting and
wrestling. In fact, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, medals awarded were three
in weightlifting, two in wrestling, and one in boxing, all bronze.
The Republic of Armenia was proudly represented by 25 athletes at the XXX
Olympiad, the 2012 London Summer Games, encompassing a variety of sports,
with competitors in wrestling, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, artistic
gymnastics, judo, taekwondo, and athletics. Of the 25 athletes there, 7
were competing in wrestling and 6 in weightlifting.
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian was in attendance at the London Opening
Ceremony on Fri., July 27. On Sun., July 30 he attended the Armenian
Open-Air Festival, organized by the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in honor of Armenia's athletes
participating in London 2012. He also watched some of the athletes perform
on Sat., July 28, including the boxing match for men's middle (75 kg.)
between Andranik Hakobyan and the American Terrell Gausha. Hakobyan was
born in Echmiadzin in 1985. As the Americans in the crowd cheered for
Gausha, the overbearing cries of `Ar-men-ia' could be heard from the other
fans. The match ended in a 3-4 loss after the referee called an end to the
contest.
Several other Armenian athletes were competing for countries other than
Armenia. Among them, Arsen Galstyan, representing Russia, won that
country's first gold medal-in men's 60 kg. judo category on July 28,
wrestling the gold from the Japanese contender, Hiroaki Hiraoka. The same
day, another Armenian in the same category, Hovhannes Davtyan representing
Armenia, born in 1983 in Gyumri, was eliminated in an earlier round. Born
in Soviet Armenia in 1989, Galstyan was trained at an early age after his
move to Russia. His siblings, Arman and Tigran, also compete in the same
sport. When asked about his training routine, Galstyan reportedly said,
`When I have nobody to train with, I recruit one of my brothers, it seems
to me that my victories give them additional stimulation to train and win.'
Famed professional tennis player and former world no. 3 David Nalbandian,
who is competing for Argentina, was born in Unquillo, Cordoba Province,
Argentina in 1982 to a mother of Italian origin and a father of Armenian
origin. He was introduced to tennis as a young boy, playing in a cement
court in their backyard built by his Armenian grandfather, and became a
professional tennis player at 18. He was eliminated in the first round of
the men's singles and doubles on July 28. His doubles partner was Eduardo
Schwank.
[image: Hrant Shahinyan Armenian Olympians: Ancient Olympiads to London
2012]
Hrant Shahinyan, representing the U.S.S.R. earned 2 gold and 2 silver
medals in Gymnastics at 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Artur Ayvazian, born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1973, competed as a shooter for
the Ukraine team, qualifying 21st for the 50 m. rifle prone on Aug. 3, and
10th for the 50 m. rifle 3 positions after a shoot off on Aug. 6. Four
years ago, Artur won gold in the 50 m. rifle prone at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics.
Tvin Moumjoghlian, representing Lebanon in women's singles table tennis,
was eliminated in the preliminary round on July 28. Born in Beirut in 1989,
she started playing table tennis at age nine, under the tutelage of her
father Raffi Moumjoghlian, a professional table tennis player and Lebanese
champion. Tvin Moumjoghlian trained in Vienna for the 2012 London Games and
has studied economics at the American University of Beirut.
Also competing on the Lebanese team is sprinter Gretta Taslakian, born in
Ghadir, Lebanon, in 1985 to parents of Lebanese and Armenian origin. Her
specialty is the running the 200 m. sprint and she has competed in the 2004
and 2008 Olympic Games, as well as in numerous other championships. On Aug.
6 she qualified for 8th place in round 1 of the women's 200 m. sprint.
An Armenian can also be found on a United States team, but not as a
competitor. Adam Krikorian is the head coach of the U.S. women's water polo
team. The team received attention after beating Italy 9-6 in the
preliminary round. They'll face Australia in the semifinals. Krikorian is
also the water polo coach at UCLA.
On Sun., Aug. 5, Armenia won its first Olympic medal of the 2012 London
Games. The bronze medal was awarded to Hripsime Khurshudyan, who competed
in women's weightlifting +75 kg. Born in Kasakh in 1987, this was
Khurshudyan's first medal awarded at an international competition.
Later in the evening on Sunday, Armenia won its second Olympic medal of the
2012 London Games, this time a silver medal which was awarded to Arsen
Julfalakyan, in 74 kg. Greco-Roman wrestling. Born in Gyumri in 1987, he is
the son of Armenia's national wrestling coach Levon Julfalakyan, who won
gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Arsen Julfalakyan, who had placed 10th at
the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeated Azerbaijan's Emin Ahmadov in the
semifinal round, but lost to Russia's Roman Vlasov in the finals. In
previous years he won the 2009 European championship, plus a silver and a
bronze at the 2010 and 2011 World championships.
On the evening of Monday August 7, Armenia brought its medal count at the
London Games up to three, with a bronze awarded to Artur Aleksanyan, born
in Gyumri in 1991, in men's 96kg Greco-Roman Wrestling. Artur defeated
Cenk Ildem of Turkey 3-0 in the Repechage Round 2, before out-wrestling
Yunior Estrada Falcon of Cuba 3-0 for the bronze. Earlier in the
afternoon, one of his team-mates Hovhannes Varderesyan, born in Yerevan in
1989, competing in men's 66kg Greco-Roman Wrestling, was defeated in
Repechage Round 1 by the wrestler Pedro Isaac Mulens Herrera from Cuba.
From: Baghdasarian