Historically, [lower-alpha 1] only a portion of ethnic Armenian athletes and athletes of Armenian descent have competed for Armenia in the Olympic Games. Armenian kings Tiridates III and Varazdat were recorded as champions in the Ancient Olympic Games. The first Armenians to participate in modern Olympics were athletes Mkrtich Mkryan and Vahram Papazyan, who represented the Ottoman Empire at the 1912 Stockholm Games. [1] The first Armenian to win a medal was Hal Haig Prieste, a son of Armenian immigrants, who won a bronze medal in diving at the 1920 Antwerp Games for the United States. [2] Soviet Armenian gymnast Hrant Shahinyan became the first Armenian gold medalist of the modern Olympics in 1952.
From 1952 to 1988, most Armenian athletes represented the Soviet Union. Although Armenia became an independent state in 1991, during the 1992 Barcelona Games Armenia and other former Soviet states (except the Baltic states) were part of the Unified Team. The National Olympic Committee of Armenia was founded in 1990 and became an International Olympic Committee member in 1993. [3] Since the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, the Republic of Armenia participates separately, but some Armenian athletes still compete under foreign flags, including ethnic Armenians born abroad and those who emigrated from Armenia.
One of the most prominent Armenian kings, Tiridates III, who is best known for adopting Christianity as Armenia's state religion in early 4th century, became a champion in wrestling in the 265th Olympics in 281, aged 22–23. [4] King of Armenia Varazdat (Varasdates) from the Arshakuni dynasty, who reigned between 374 and 378, [5] is the last known champion of the Ancient Olympic Games. He became a champion in fisticuffs at the 291st Olympic Games in 385 A.D., seven years after leaving the Armenian throne. [6] [lower-alpha 2]
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Medal | Name | Country | Games | Sport | Event | Ref |
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Gold | Grigory Mkrtychan | Soviet Union | 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | Ice hockey | Men's tournament | |
Gold | Vicki Movsessian | United States | 1998 Nagano | Ice hockey | Women's tournament | |
Silver | Evgenia Medvedeva | OAR | 2018 Pyeongchang | Figure skating | Team event | |
Silver | Evgenia Medvedeva | OAR | 2018 Pyeongchang | Figure skating | Ladies' singles | |
By games
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Vladimir Yengibaryan was a Soviet and Armenian amateur light-welterweight boxer. He was an Olympic champion, three-time European champion and three-time Soviet champion. In 1956 he was named the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR and awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. During his career he won 255 out of 267 bouts.
The following medal table is a list of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and one non-NOC team ranked by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016.
Arsen Julfalakyan is an Armenian Greco-Roman style wrestler, Olympic silver medalist, World and European Champion, World Cup winner and three-time Olympian.
Shiva Thapa is an Indian boxer. Thapa participated in the 2012 London Olympics, and was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics. Thapa is ranked 3rd in the bantamweight category in the AIBA Men's World Ranking. He is the third Indian to clinch gold at the Asian Games. Thapa is the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships. Thapa has been elected as a member of the International Boxing Association (amateur) Athletes Committee.
Artur Aleksanyan is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler. He is an Olympic Champion (2016) as well as silver medalist (2021) and bronze medalist (2012), a four-time World Champion, and a seven-time European Champion. Aleksanyan is the second Olympic gold medalist of Armenia since regaining independence in 1991 and is the most decorated Olympian of independent Armenia as well. He has been nicknamed the "White Bear" and is one of the most renowned Armenian athletes of the 21st century.
The boxing tournaments at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 21 August 2016 at the Pavilion 6 of Riocentro. However, boxing at the games was overshadowed with controversy after there were doubts raised that results in certain bouts had been manipulated. These concerns were upheld in a report published in 2021.
Wrestling has deep historical roots in Armenia. Wrestling was practiced in the Armenian Highlands since ancient times. Armenians have their own variant of the sport called Kokh. It was recorded that King Tiridates III of Armenia won the Ancient Olympic Games in wrestling in 281 AD. During the Soviet era, wrestling became one of the most practiced sports in Armenia and remained popular after Armenia's independence in 1991. Armenian athletes have been successful at international competitions in the last two decades. Many have become World and European champions, both in Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling. Over half of the fifteen Armenian Olympic medalists and the two gold medal winners have been wrestlers. The sport is overseen by the Wrestling Federation of Armenia.
Boxing in Armenia is a popular sport, that existed in the Armenian Highland since ancient times. Amateur boxing schools in the country appeared in early 1900s, by the mid-1950s boxing became one of the traditional sports in Armenia. In 1956, Vladimir Yengibaryan won a gold medal at the Olympics for the Soviet team. In the early 21st century, professional and amateur boxing in Armenia reached another peak. Most notably Arthur Abraham and Vic Darchinyan won several professional world champion titles. Dozens of amateur boxers have been placed in the top 3 of world and European competitions for various weight categories. Vladimir Yengibarian was among the first individuals to open professional boxing schools in Armenia. The sport is regulated by the Armenian Boxing Federation.
Artur Vahrami Davtyan is an Armenian gymnast. He is a member of the Armenia national team in gymnastics. Davtyan is the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and the 2022 World Champion on vault. Additionally he is the 2019 European Games vault champion and is a six-time European Championships medalist.
The boxing tournaments at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place from 24 July to 8 August 2021 at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. Thirteen events were staged, the same number as in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. However, for the first time since the London Games, the programme has been updated, with the number of men's events reduced by two and the number of women's events increased by the same number.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Fiji competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's debut in 1956, Fijian athletes had taken part in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two occasions. Fiji failed to register any athletes at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and joined the American-led boycott when Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Armenia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Bulgaria competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bulgarian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1924, except for three occasions: the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, and the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles because of Bulgaria's actions in World War II and the worldwide Great Depression and Soviet boycott, respectively.
Victor Ciobanu is a Moldovan Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal in the 60 kg event at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway. He is the first wrestler representing Moldova to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the World Wrestling Championships.
The Armenian Handball Federation, also known as the Handball Federation of Armenia, is the regulating body of handball and beach handball in Armenia, governed by the Armenian Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the federation is located in Yerevan.
The Armenian Gymnastics Federation, also known as the Gymnastics Federation of Armenia, is the regulating body of gymnastics and artistic gymnastics in Armenia, governed by the Armenian Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the federation is located in Yerevan.
The Badminton Federation of Armenia, is the regulating body of badminton in Armenia, governed by the Armenian Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the federation is located in Yerevan.
The Armenian Table Soccer Federation, also known as the Armenian Table Football Federation, is the regulating body of table soccer in Armenia, governed by the Armenian Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the federation is located in Yerevan.
...Hal Haig Prieste, an American of Armenian descent... In 1896, Prieste's parents and an older brother fled Armenia during a time of violent conflict.
The last Olympic victor whose name we know is the Armenian Prince Varazdates, who won the boxing in the 291st Olympiad (A. D. 385).
Under the tolerant, assimilating Romans, the Olympics became polyglot and the last Olympic victor of whom we have record was an Armenian prince, Varaztad, who won a boxing match in A.D. 385.
By a strange irony of fate the last recorded victor of the national (Olympic) games was Varazdates, a Ascarid from Armenia, who won the boxing in a.d. 385.
Fittingly, the last champion for whom there is evidence was not a Greek, but an Armenian boxer named Varaztad.
This explains how in the two hundred and ninety first Olympiad (385 B.C.) the victory was carried off by the Armenian pugilist, Varasdates, a descendant of the royal family of Arsacides, who became later the king of Armenia. This Varasdates was the last conqueror in the Olympic Games known to us.
Varazdates, a Arsacid from Armenia who won in boxing in A.D. 369.
The date of the last Olympic is as uncertain as the date of the first. Until quite recently, the last known victor was the Armenian prince Varazdat, who won the boxing competition in 369 A.D., but an inscription discovered at Olympia in 1994 gives the names of several athletes whose victories came as late as 385 A.D. If Theodosius I decreed an end to the Olympics in 394, as some scholars believe, then the last games took place in 393. (The evidence for this belief comes from an eleventh-century manuscript by Georgios Kedrenos.)
Not only does the honour of being the last known Olympian no longer belong to Varazdat(es) of Armenia in AD 369, but it is significant for our understanding of the "end" of the Games that these latest Olympians came from Athens, not from distant parts if the ancient world.
Although the Roman conquest initially involved a vast diminution in the games' prestige, they now become open to at least some non-Greeks (the last known victor, of boxing in AD 369, was Varazdates, the crown prince of Armenia).
A.D. 365 - The last Olympic victor on record is the Armenian prince Varazdate, who won the boxing in the 291st Olympiad. A.D. 393 - Last official Olympic Games (the 293rd). The victors' names are lost.
Վարազդատը աղբյուրներում հայտնի է որպես բազմակողմանի զարգացած մարզիկ (ըստ Մովսես Խորենացու՝ կորովի նետաձիգ, ճարտար գազանամարտիկ, սուսերամարտիկ, ըմբշամարտիկ, բռնցքամարտիկ): Նրա անունը դրոշմվել է մարմարյա սալիկին՝ որպես վերջին օլիմպիադայի (393) չեմպիոնի:
His father, an Armenian-born discus thrower, and his mother, a Ukrainian volleyball player, had met at the Kiev State Institute of Physical Education, and both taught there while he was growing up.
The mother, who came from a prominent Armenian family, which found refuge in Bulgaria after the 1896 Armenian massacres in the Ottoman Empire, was the best Bulgarian tennis player in the 1960s.
Мама у меня русская, папа действительно армянин, я даже в прошлом году участвовала в Ереване в Панармянских играх, мне факел на торжественном открытии доверили.
Отец мой действительно армянин, из Ленинакана.
My father is Armenian. By the way, I've never been to Armenia.
Об отце Евгении было известно только одно: его зовут Арман Бабасян, он предприниматель из Армении.
Also I want to note that one of the young stars of Russian figure skating, Evgenia Medvedeva is an Armenian, her real name is Babasyan.