User talk:TheShadowCrow/Archive 2

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 * Arayik Mirzoyan (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver)
 * added a link pointing to Baghramian


 * Gretta Taslakian (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver)
 * added a link pointing to Ghadir

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Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents
Please note that I opened the ANI topic about you as promised.--Ymblanter (talk) 13:47, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Picture of the weightlifters
Remember this photo of Oksen Mirzoyan, Yurik Vardanyan and Yurik Sarkisyan so I just uploaded here under Fair use. And I wanted to ask you to name them in order from left to right. I can recognize Vardanyan, he's the sitting one in the middle with red shirt.-- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  21:13, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, yeah that's what I asked for. I wasn't sure which one was Mirzoyan and which one was Sarkisyan. I fixed Baghdadyan's and few others' names. Vaghinak Galstyan's name seems to be right.-- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  22:49, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

I have a program on my computer that has some basic photo editing tools. I use it for cropping, saturating or enhancing pictures. If you need anything, just let me know. It takes few seconds to do that.-- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  01:10, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Of course not, I don't mind at all. I'll be thankful for that. -- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  19:30, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

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Boxing
So I nominated Boxing in Armenia for a Did you know? ( which means if it does pass the criteria, it will be featured on the main page) and there is this issue.

The following sentence is not sourced.

Would you please add a source that states it or rewrite it.-- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  05:24, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
 * You're right. I'm sorry. You wrote the history of weightlifting. -- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  20:20, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Re: Suggestions
I do agree that Cher needs to be replaced by someone else.

Hrant Shahinyan is great, not enough to be there, only in my opinion. Vazgen Sargsyan is there and adding Monte Melkonian will be too militaristic. Levon Aronian will probably fit the best there, but Tigran Petrosian is already there. Kirk Kerkorian is a businessman and how appropriate do you think it is to include him there?

So we're down to 2 options: Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Sirusho. Obviously LTP is of much more significance than her, but his image is controversial among Armenians. I don't really know. To be honest, Ter-Petrosyan (or any other politician) is not someone I would pick to represent the Armenians, but the fact that he have been the most known Armenian politician since 1988 is undeniable. And Sirusho is a pop singer whom I don't really consider someone notable, though known outside of Armenia. This is a tough question. And again, this is only my personal opinion and I can be wrong.

For the Armenian Ameircans page I do agree with you. -- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  02:29, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

WOW! Really, who would ever expect something like that. Not me, fore sure.

I fixed their names and if there's anything else to help with just ask.-- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  02:28, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Vardanyan
It looks great. Nice job!

Yes, he was the President's advisor. Here it says it. This (http://www.ethics.am/restr/view/mem_192) is an official source you can use. It's from the Ethics Commission of Republic of Armenia, which is a government agency. It says that he holds the position since April 2, 2009.-- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  01:16, 12 December 2012 (UTC)


 * This (http://www.louysworld.com/archives/4114) source says that he left Armenia in 1992 because of political reasons and lived in the United Stats until 2009. It also says that he was appointed President's advisor on April 2, 2009. He claims that he supports Serzh Sargsyan's policy, unlike Robert Kocharyan's and that's why he returned to Armenia.


 * The Russian Wiki article says in 2000 he was voted the top Armenian athlete of the 20th century by journalists. Yerevan City Hall (http://www.yerevan.am/edfiles/files/Patvavor/Alb.%20Azaryan.pdf) link can be used as a source. -- Ե րևանցի ասելիք կա՞  00:06, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

Blocked
To enforce an arbitration decision, you have been blocked from editing for a period of 3 months. Once the block has expired, you are welcome to make useful contributions. If you believe this block is unjustified, please read the guide to appealing arbitration enforcement blocks and follow the instructions there to appeal your block. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 13:19, 17 December 2012 (UTC) Notice to administrators: In a March 2010 decision, the Committee held that "Administrators are prohibited from reversing or overturning (explicitly or in substance) any action taken by another administrator pursuant to the terms of an active arbitration remedy, and explicitly noted as being taken to enforce said remedy, except: (a) with the written authorization of the Committee, or (b) following a clear, substantial, and active consensus of uninvolved editors at a community discussion noticeboard (such as WP:AN or WP:ANI). If consensus in such discussions is hard to judge or unclear, the parties should submit a request for clarification on the proper page. Any administrator that overturns an enforcement action outside of these circumstances shall be subject to appropriate sanctions, up to and including desysopping, at the discretion of the Committee."

The block was placed by, however I have logged it as an arbitration enforcement block. This is really last chance saloon for you now - the next block after this will almost certainly be indefinite; you have been given more than enough chances. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 13:19, 17 December 2012 (UTC)


 * WHY!? Have you stretched the rules so much now that I can be banned for no reason? TheShadowCrow (talk) 16:14, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Are you denying that this is yours? Or do you think its okay to violate the restrictions as long as you create a new account and keep it a secret? By the way, Elockid is a checkuser who wouldn't block somebody for no reason - there is probably technical evidence linking this account with that one. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 18:02, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
 * That is not me. I sometimes go on Wikipedia when I'm at a library. I told you this before. --TheShadowCrow (talk) 22:44, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
 * The sock account was only editing from one IP. There were absolutely no other users (not even logged out edits) on the IP that you and the sock account were both using. Also, both you and the account were editing from the same machine. Furthermore, the IP that you and the sock account were editing from appears to be a residential IP. If you believe there's a mistake, you can still contest the block by adding the following text: .  Elockid  ( Talk ) 00:19, 18 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I can't view the technical evidence because I'm not a checkuser, although I think I and other admins have heard enough to make a judgement. Beyond the technical evidence, you have been previously caught engaging in sock-puppetry and it highly unlikely that there would be someone else in that library at around the same time as you, with the same IP, who so happens to have the same article interests and editing style. Overall, I think with this level of evidence the block can be justified. However TheShadowCrow is welcome to ask for a third opinion using the unblock template. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 19:38, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Weightlifting in Armenia
Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:07, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

Deletion discussion about Iveta Mukuchyan
Hello, TheShadowCrow,

I wanted to let you know that there's a discussion about whether Iveta Mukuchyan should be deleted. Your comments are welcome at Articles for deletion/Iveta Mukuchyan.

If you're new to the process, articles for deletion is a group discussion (not a vote!) that usually lasts seven days. If you need it, there is a guide on how to contribute. Last but not least, you are highly encouraged to continue improving the article; just be sure not to remove the tag about the deletion nomination from the top.

Thanks, Mabalu (talk) 03:20, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Mari Harutyunyan
Hello TheShadowCrow,

I wanted to let you know that I just tagged Mari Harutyunyan for deletion, because the article doesn't clearly say why the subject is important enough to be included in an encyclopedia.

If you feel that the article shouldn't be deleted and want more time to work on it, you can contest this deletion, but please don't remove the speedy deletion tag from the top.

You can leave a note on my talk page if you have questions. Thanks, Mabalu (talk) 03:29, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

WP:FAKEARTICLE
Just a heads up: I'm as liberal as they come when it comes to using the talk page while blocked (or while not blocked, for that matter) but you are rapidly stepping into fakearticle territory. I understand you can't use the sandbox while blocked, and this makes a good scratch pad and all, but you probably need to the extended article type content, or move it to your own computer before someone comes and just blanks it or gets irate. Keep in mind, if this is a copy of an article that is unattributed, that would be a copyright violation and needs to be deleted anyway. Dennis Brown - 2&cent;    &copy;  Join WER 03:33, 27 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Ok. Cooper paid a lot of visits to my talk page during my last ban so I know he saw what I was working on. Since he didn't say anything, I figured I wasn't doing anything wrong. After reading the WP for fakearticles, I still don't understand what it means. Does it mean people like this guy aren't allowed to decorate their userpages in such fashion? Is there some where on Wikipedia/commons that I can use for a scratch pad? Or is there a change I can make that would make the content acceptable? Because I tried putting content on Word documents before and it didn't come out so well. And what's a hat?


 * Also, is there anything I can do about my two articles now being nominated for deletion? Because both pass WP:SINGER (Has performed music for a work of media that is notable, e.g., a theme for a network television show, performance in a television show or notable film, inclusion on a notable compilation album, etc. and Has won or placed in a major music competition) but Harutyunyan was deleted anyway and Mukuchyan‎ may be too. --TheShadowCrow (talk) 20:34, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

This is the content hidden inside the hat. Hat stands for "Hidden Archive Top", Hab stands for "Hidden Archive Bottom".

Here is an example. Edit it and it will make sense. You can't vote on the AFDs are participate, which I assure you will be closely watched. This is the whole idea of being blocked, you can't participate. And yes, I'm sure you can use a sandbox at Commons if you aren't blocked there.

As for FAKEARTICLE, the policy is simply that you don't make userspace (main and talk page) look like an article. Sandboxes are the exception. That someone else didn't say anything doesn't mean much, I'm notifying you. I will give some time to hat or move them somewhere else, as I'm not trying to be a pain, but they do push the limits of the guidelines on proper use of your talk page. Dennis Brown - 2&cent;    &copy;  Join WER 22:23, 27 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Is this good? --TheShadowCrow (talk) 22:54, 27 December 2012 (UTC)
 * That is fine. As I say, I'm pretty liberal about use as long as it doesn't look like an article.  In the  portion, you have the option of adding a title if you do it with a piping command, like    Dennis Brown -  2&cent;    &copy;  Join WER 23:10, 27 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm also pretty liberal about user talk page usage, and decided not to bother you about it, although I do welcome the use of hat notes. One other thing though - user and user talk pages should not go into main-space categories, so please ensure there are none on this page. To prevent this put a colon after the brackets but in front of the word category like this: Category:Olympic weightlifters of the Unified Team, which will create a link rather than categorize the page. The colons can be removed when the article is moved to the mainspace. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 23:14, 2 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I thought a bot took care of that, but I'll be doing it myself from now on.


 * And while I have your attention, can I ask you to look at this. E4024 has, among other controversial things, called someone a terrorist but the Wikipedia justice process isn't very effective.


 * In fact User:Toddy1 said "Removed Personal attack per WP:NPA and WP:CIVILITY. BTW I am not your friend. I do not support terrorism." That is not the same as saying that you support terrorism., a shocking contrast of what you said saying someone's edit contains racism and vandalism means (besides, in my link, he directly calls Yerevanci a terrorist). --TheShadowCrow (talk) 23:51, 2 January 2013 (UTC)


 * The underlying reason for your blocks were that you are banned from that topic but you chose to engage in that area anyway - this issue over what you were or weren't saying was only discussing aggravating factors. That said, I'm happy to say I disagree with Toddy1 here; it is clear what the comment was implying, but I won't get into the business of judging the truthfulness of such a label. In my opinion the overriding problem with this and all such hot areas on Wikipedia is that they are dominated by people with strong views who have an axe to grind; not the best people to rely on to write objective encylcopedic content. Anyone who feels the need to declare their faction on Armenia-Azerbaijan and related controversies or whom cannot communicate with other editors without resorting to name calling, should stay away from that subject, and instead edit a topic area in which in which they have no such feelings. We are to build an encyclopedia; Wikipedia was not created to form a new front for ongoing culture wars, and far to many editors, including you, have the tendency to forget that. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 00:30, 3 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Why do you not punish the turk and azeri users whenever they make attacks? If an Armenian user called one of them a terrorist just once I'm certain you would jump to deliver a topic and edit ban. Yet in the case of vice versa, in which the personal attack is made several times, you do nothng. E4024 is currently over-qualified for a topic ban, but I doubt he'll ever get one, since they seem to be for Armenian users only. I'm starting to suspect you are biased. This user's tenth box template would look nice on your user page. --TheShadowCrow (talk) 19:50, 5 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Oh so I'm not a Turk, but I would like to be one? I'm glad we have made some progress since your conspiratorial claim that I was a Turk secretly living in Germany. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 01:33, 6 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Still doesn't explain why you ignored a personnal attack. --TheShadowCrow (talk) 22:57, 6 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Because it was at ANI meaning that other admins were already dealing with it, and it was none of my business, and certainly none of yours. I remind you again that you are banned from the AA topic area, including all discussions, and that includes commentary and involvement in other people's ANI reports; I'm being lenient by allowing you to discuss it at all. By the way, speculating about someone's nationality or political interests in order to discredit their viewpoints is a personal attack, and as alluded to above this is second time I have warned you about this behaviour. If it happens again it will be dealt with as abuse of the talk page access privilege that have been provided. CT Cooper · &#32;talk 13:10, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

DYK for Boxing in Armenia
( X! ·  talk )  · @181  · 12:03, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Sandbox
I'll delete your sandbox in a few hours when I have access to a better computer (the size keeps on crashing this browser!), alternatively you can tag with db-u1 and another admin will delete it. GiantSnowman 10:05, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

(multi repeated message)

HAT HERE
1 Robert Emmiyan 2 Arakel Mirzoyan 3 Armen Mkrtchyan 4 Arsen Julfalakyan 5 Artur Aleksanyan 6 Ashot Danielyan 7 Benur Pashayan 8 Gevorg Davtyan 9 Hrachik Javakhyan 10 2008 11  2005 12  2007 13  2009 14  2011 15  2006 16  2010 17  Hrachya Petikyan 18 Hripsime Khurshudyan 19 Israel Militosyan 20 Khachatur Kyapanaktsyan 21 Levon Julfalakyan 22 Mnatsakan Iskandaryan 23 Nshan Munchyan 24 1996 25  1986 26  1989 27  1993 28  1995 29  1987 30  1989 31  1991 32  1994 33  Oksen Mirzoyan 34 Roman Amoyan 35 Stepan Sarkisyan 36 Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan 37 Tigran Vardan Martirosyan 38 Yurik Sarkisyan 39 Yury Patrikeyev 40 Vladimir Yengibaryan 41 1956 42  1960 43  Eduard Azaryan 44 Edvard Mikaelian 45 Nikita Pavlovic Simonyan 46 Soviet Union 47 Igor Aramovich Ter-Ovanesyan 48 Norair Nurikyan 49 Vardan Militosyan 50 David Torosyan 51 1976 52  Suren Nalbandyan 53 Sanasar Oganisyan 54 Alfred Ter-Mkrtychyan 55 Arsen Melikyan 56 Varteres Varteresovich Samourgachev 57 Armen Vardanyan 58 Sergo Chakhoyan 59 Armen Ghazaryan 60 Rafael Arkadyevich Chimishkyan 61 Artyom Sarkisovich Teryan 62 Ara Khachatryan 63 Meline Daluzyan 64 Sirvard Emirzyan 65 Sos Hayrapetyan 66 Armen Bagdasarov 67 Benjamin Varonian 68 Arsen Zhorayevich Galstyan 69 David Valeryevich Ayrapetyan 70 Aghasi Manukyan 71 Mkhitar Manukyan 72 Arayik Gevorgyan 73 Aram Margaryan 74 Vaghinak Galstyan 75 Martin Berberyan 76 Ruslan Basiev 77 Andranik Hakobyan 78 Hovhannes Danielyan 79 Eduard Hambardzumyan 80 Artyom Simonyan 81 Arsen Ghazaryan 82 Hovhannes Avtandilyan 83 Arusyak Gyulbudaghyan 84 Norayr Sargsyan 85 Arsen Gevorgyan 86 Anush Manukyan 87 Eduard Darbinyan 88 Hayk Yeghiazaryan 89 Hovhannes Barseghyan 90 Aghvan Grigoryan 91 Samvel Manukyan 92 Tsolak Yeghishyan 93 Shirak Poghosyan 94 Anna Nasilyan 95 Dmitri Margaryan 96 Yuliana Mikheeva 97 Rudik Petrosyan 98 Gagik Khachatryan 99 Rafael Samurgashev 100 Khoren Papoyan 101 Haykaz Galstyan 102 Arshak Hayrapetyan 103 Marine Ghazaryan 104 Aleksan Nalbandyan 105 Varduhi Avetisyan 106 Gevorg Aleksanyan 107 Armen Nazaryan 108 Hovhannes Davtyan 109 Arman Yeremyan 110 Sargis Tonoyan 111 Harutyun Hovhannisyan 112 Aleksander Mikaelyan 113 Hrach Hovhannisyan 114 Artur Mkrtchyan 115 Artur Gevorgyan 116 Lernik Papyan 117 Mekhak Ghazaryan 118 Armen Martirosyan 119 Aram Ramazyan 120 Vardan Voskanyan 121 Vladimir Grushikin 122 Zhirayr Hovhannisyan 123 Norayr Bakhtamyan 124 Melik Janoyan 125 Ani Khachikyan 126 Mikael Koloyan 127 Edgar Gevorgyan 128 Suren Markosyan 129 Harutyun Yenokyan 130 Arman Adikyan 131 Denis Forov 132 Vardan Pahlevanyan 133 Arsen Sargsyan 134 Kristine Harutyunyan 135 Artur Davtyan 136 Anahit Barseghyan 137 Norayr Vardanyan 138 Mihran Jaburyan 139 David Safaryan 140 Gadzhimurad Nurmagomedov 141 Hovhannes Varderesyan 142 Henrikh Mkhitaryan 143 David Manoyan 144 Yura Movsisyan 145 Marcos Pinheiro Pizzelli 146 Sargis Hovsepyan 147 Robert Arzumanyan 148 Gevorg Ghazaryan 149 Artur Sergeyevich Sarkisov 150 Roman Anatoliy Berezovsky 151 Arthur Petrosyan 152 Harutyun Vardanyan 153 Hamlet Mkhitaryan 154 Ara Hakobyan 155 Armen Shahgeldyan 156 Levon Hayrapetyan

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Robert Emmiyan (Ռոբերտ Էմմիյան; born February 16, 1965 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR) is a retired long jumper who represented the USSR and Armenia. He is the fourth best long jumper in history and the best long jumper not of African-American descent. His personal best jump of 8.86 metres, which he achieved in Tsakhkadzor in May 1987, is the current European record.

Emmiyan received the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR award in 1987.

An annual track and field meeting in Artashat, Armenia has been held in his honour since 2001 – the Emmiyan Cup.

Biography
At age 16, Robert Emmiyan jumped 7.77 meters, the best jump in the world for his age group.

Emmiyan started playing for the Soviet Union in athletics on an international level in 1981.

At the 1985 IAAF World Cup, Emmiyan came in second place.

In 1986, Emmiyan won the 1986 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid with a jump of 8.32 meters.

Emmiyan won the gold medal at the 1986 European Championships with a jump of 8.41 metres, setting a new championship record. Team mate Sergey Layevskiy was the only other man to jump over eight metres, jumping 8.01m, in a dominant victory by Emmiyan. Emmiyan's record in the Championship still remains unbroken.

The inaugural politically contested 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow saw Emmiyan win the gold medal in the long jump and set a new European record - 8.61 meters.

In what was a great year for Emmiyan, he had the best jump of 1986.

In 1987, Emmiyan won the 1987 European Athletics Indoor Championships again, making it his second consecutive gold medal at the championships, and set a European record for the long jump indoors - 8.49 meters.

Emmiyan participated at the 1987 European Cup and came in first place. Emmiyan set the Cup's long jump record at 8.38 meters. This record was never surpassed and remained when the Cup became defunct in 2006.

On May 22, 1987, in the high land of Tsakhkadzor (1840 meters above sea level) Emmiyan jumped 8.86 meters. At that time, it was only the second best jump ever, after a record jump of Bob Beamon (8.90 meters) in Mexico City in 1968. Later, only Michael Powell (8.95 meters) and Carl Lewis (8.87 meters) jumped farther than Emmiyan. Thus, Emmiyan's jump of 8.86 meters is currently the fourth best jump of all time and is also the current European record.

Emmiyan won a silver medal with a score of 8.53 meters, finishing second behind Carl Lewis (8.67 meters) at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome.

Emmiyan was a big medal favorite for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. However, Emmiyan got injured in the qualifying rounds and was unable to continue.

At the end of that year in December, tragedy struck when Emmiyan's hometown of Gyumri was hit by an earthquake that destroyed much of the city and claimed the lives of many people, including Emmiyan's father.

Emmiyan was still able to train and remain in good shape. He continued to jump over 8.20 and 8.30 meters. In fact, he was able to jump more than eight metres for 15 years straight. But the mental toll caused by the earthquake remained. Long jumping requires a great deal of focus and concentration. Emmiyan began to decline athleticly and his goal of breaking the world record was fading. He claimed his life and career had "changed from what it had been before."

At the 1990 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Emmiyan won the bronze medal with a score of 8.06 meters.

Emmiyan's last major success came at the 1991 European Cup, where he came in second place.

Since 1991, Emmiyan started played for his now independent home of Armenia. He participated at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. But, with the result of 7.76 meters, failed to qualify for the finals, finishing in 28th place. Emmiyan ended his career as a long jumper of Armenia.

Emmiyan is now the President of the Armenian athletics federation as of April 2010.

Personal life
When the 1988 Spitak earthquake occurred on December, 7, 1988, Emmiyan's home of Gyumri was deeply affected by the damage. His father was killed and his families home was destroyed. Other members of his family also perished. Emmiyan suffered psychological problems from the earthquake that had weakend his mentality for long jumping. Robert and his mother lived in a hotel for three years following the earthquake.

Emmiyan moved to Paris, France some time after his career ended. Emmiyan married a woman from the Armenian community in Paris and with her has two daughters, Fiona and Lauren.

Early life
Arakel was born on June 13, 1956 in Baghramyan, Ararat, Armenian SSR. His father, Oksen Mirzoyan, was a weightlifter who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the then Head Coach of the Armenian national weightlifting team and the current Chairman of the Armenian Weightlifting Federation. Mirzoyan began following in his father's footsteps at a young age. His own weightlift career started when he lifted 20kg weight at the age of 5. Since then, Arakel has devoted his life to weightlifting.

Career
Mirzoyan won various junior championships. The Armenian weightlifter won silver at the 2007 European Youth Championships in Landskrona with a total of 257 kg. A year later, in the city of Durres, he became champion of Europe with a total of 310 kg. In the same year, at the World Youth Championships in Cali, with a total of 302 kg, Arakel won the silver medal. After that, Mirzoyan participated at International Student Games in 2008, winning the silver medal by lifting 312 kg in total.

Now competing as a senior, Arakel Mirzoyan lifted a total of 336 kg at the 2009 European Weightlifting Championships in Bucharest to become the European Champion. In the same year, he went to the 2009 World Weightlifting Championships in Goyang, where he lifted a total weight of 334 kg and won the silver medal, behind the reigning Olympic Champion Liao Hui. Arakel later claimed a hand injury prevented him from winning gold. In 2010, Mirzoyan changed his weight class and began performing in the weight category of 77 kg. He had to miss a number of championships in order to adjust to this new weight. At the 2011 World Championships in France, he took 10th place with a total weight of 338 kg. He returned to 69 kg sometime afterward.

He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In a dispointing proformance, Mirzoyan failed complete a total and dropped out of the competition. Weeks later, Armenian Weightlifting Federation President Samvel Khachatryan revealed Mirzoyan had been suffering from psychological problems, preventing him from competing to the fullest of his ability. In training, Khachatryan saw Mirzoyan lift 160 kilograms in snatch and 200 kilograms in clean and jerk. Khachatryan stated that he would not have allowed Mirzoyan to perform if he had been aware of his psychological problems. Mirzoyan himself later apoligized to his fans for his defeat and promised to learn from his problems and give a better proformance at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Biography
Mkrtchyan began his wrestling career under Razmik Karapetyan and, in 1992 and for the rest of his career, under Grant Yenokyan. Armen was a member of the USSR national wrestling team as a junior. In 1990, he won the Junior World Wrestling Championship gold medal at the age of 18. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, he represented Armenia at international competitions. In 1994, Armen won a gold medal at the FILA Wrestling European Championships in Rome. He became the first Wrestling European Champion of the independent Republic of Armenia in freestyle wrestling. Mkrtchyan won a bronze medal at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships in Atlanta, the first medal won by a freestyle wrestler of Armenia. Because Mkrtchyan had ranked in the top six wrestlers of his division, he recieved automatic qualification to return to Atlanta in a year's time to compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Mkrtchyan reached the finals, where he faced off against the division reigning Olympic Champion, Kim Il of North Korea. Mkrtchyan and Kim both put up a bitter struggle in a back and forth match. In the end, Mkrtchyan lost by one point, 4-5. This had been the closest to defeat Kim had come to in five years. Mkrtchyan became the first ever Olympic silver medalist from Armenia.

In 1997, Mkrtchyan moved up to a heavier weight class, moving from paperweight (48 kg) to flyweight (54 kg). He was unable to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics. After winning a bronze medal at the 2001 Wrestling European Championships, Mkrtchyan retired.

Early life
Arsen Julfalakyan was born on May 8, 1987, in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia). He is the son of renowned Armenian, European, World and Olympic Champion and current Armenian national Greco-Roman wrestling head coach Levon Julfalakyan. Under the guidance of his father, Arsen began wrestling at age 11.

Arsen studied at Yerevan State University and received an International Relations faculty master's degree.

Career
Arsen, age 21, competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in his second match, coming in tenth place.

Julfalakyan won a gold medal at the 2009 European Wrestling Championships in Vilnius and a silver medal in the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow.

Julfalakyan was a member of the Armenian Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2010 FILA Wrestling World Cup. The Armenian team came in third place. Julfalakyan personally won a gold medal.

Arsen made his Olympic return at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He advanced to the finals without losing a single point, but faced defeat in the finals against Roman Vlasov in a tensely contested match. Vlasov called Julfalakyan his idol afterwards. Julfalakyan won an Olympic silver medal, the first Olympic silver medal won by an Armenian representitive in sixteen-years.

Julfalakyan was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year for 2012.

Personal life
Julfalakyan got married on August 27 in St. Gevorg Church.

Career
Javakhyan began boxing at the age of 14 under honored coach of Armenia, Gevorg Misakyan. Since 2005, he has been a member of the national team of Armenia.

Javakhyan advanced all the wy to the finals at the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships where he met reigning Olympic and World Champion Aleksei Tishchenko. Hrachik was defeated and won the silver medal.

The following year, Javakhyan qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships.

In 2008, at the Olympic Games, Javakhyan received a first round bye, defeated Rasheed Lawal in the second round without losing a point and had a walkover against Jong Sub-Baik. In the semifinals, Javakhyan faced Tishchenko again. Although he put up a better challenge than before, Javakhyan ultimately lost. Javakhyan was awarded an Olympic bronze medal, the first Olympic medal ever won by a boxer from the independent Republic of Armenia.

Javakhyan won a gold medal at the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships.

Olympic Games Results
2008
 * 1st round bye
 * Defeated Rasheed Lawal (Nigeria) 12-0
 * Defeated Jong Sub-Baik (South Korea) WO
 * Lost to Aleksei Tishchenko (Russia) 5-10

World Amateur Championships Results
2005
 * Lost to Ibrahim Kamal (Canada) 18-29

2007
 * Defeated Aivars Romanovskis (Latvia) 17-14
 * Defeated Sadam Ali (United States) 20-16
 * Defeated Genebert Basadre (Philippines) 17-6
 * Lost to Domenico Valentino (Italy) 12-27

2009
 * Defeated Aivars Romanovskis (Bulgaria) 11-1
 * Lost to Éverton Lopes (Brazil) 3-10

2011
 * Defeated David Mueller (Germany) 17-11
 * Lost to Zdeněk Chládek (Czech Republic) 6-10

European Championships Results
2006
 * Defeated Ovidiu Bobirnat (Cyprus) 34-17
 * Defeated Krzysztof Szot (Poland) 20-10
 * Defeated Vazgen Safaryants (Belarus) 25-16
 * Lost to Aleksei Tishchenko (Russia) 15-39

2010
 * Defeated Alex Vasiljev (Finland) 11-2
 * Defeated Georgian Popescu (Romania) 9-3
 * Defeated David Mueller (Germany) 5-3
 * Defeated Olexandr Klyuchko (Ukraine) 5-1
 * Defeated Gyula Kate (Hungary) 3-2

Early life
Hripsime was born in the village Kasakh in the Nairi region of Armenian SSR. Her ancestors moved to Aparan first, and then to Kassakh, from Mush during the Armenian Genocide.

She has been training in weightlifting since she was 15 under the honored coach of Armenia, Sarmen Yesayan.

Career
Khurshudyan won a silver medal at the 2006 European Weightlifting Championships. She became the first women weightlifter from the independent Republic of Armenia to win a medal at the European Weightlifting Championships. The following year, she and Meline Daluzyan became the first Armenian female weightlifters to become European Champions at the 2007 European Weightlifting Championships. Khurshudyan also became a Junior World Champion in 2007.

Khurshudyan competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 75 kg weight class, finishing in 11th place. She was a late substitute for Meline Daluzyan, who suffered from an acute attack of pancreatitis and was forced to withdraw from the Olympics. Since she was not prepared to take part in this competition, Khurshudyan could not perform to the best of her ability.

In 2010, Khurshudyan was unable to fit within the weight category of 75 kg and was forced to move up in weight class.

She participated in the women's +75 kg weight class at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, though weighing in at only 76 kg. Despite the weight disadvantage, she won the bronze medal, finishing behind Tatiana Kashirina and Zhou Lulu. She snatched 128 kg and jerked an additional 166 kg for a total of 294 kg. Khurshudyan became not only the first Armenian women to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting, but also the first Armenian women to win an Olympic medal.

Personal life
Following her 2012 Olympic success, Khurshudyan got married and took some time off from the sport of weightlifting.

Early life
Born in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia), a city famous for its world class weightlifters, Militosyan took up weightlifting in 1980 under the guidance of cousin Vardan Militosyan and joined the Soviet national team in 1987.

Career
Militosyan was one of the top weightlifters of his era. He made his Olympic debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He won a silver medal in the lightweight (67.5 kg) class with a total of 337.5 kg, only 2.5 kg behind gold medalist Joachim Kunz. Despite the defeat, Militosyan set a new Olympic record in the snatch at 155 kg.

The following year, Militosyan became both a European and a World Champion by winning gold medal at the 1989 European Weightlifting Championships and 1989 World Weightlifting Championships. At the World Weightlifting Championships in Athens, Militosyan set the world record in the snatch at 158.5 kg and then, in his next lift, broke his own world record at 160 kg.

Militosyan would come in second to rival Yoto Yotov at the next three European Weightlifting Championships and at the 1991 World Weightlifting Championships. As such, Yotov was considered the gold medal favorite at the up-coming Olympics and Militosyan was expected to repeat his silver medal achievement.

Though the Soviet Union was disbanded, Militosyan and the other Soviet Olympians still competed together under the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In the snatch, Militosyan lifted 155 kg, breaking his own previous Olympic record (150 kg), and lifted 182.5 kg in the clean and jerk, setting an Olympic total of 337.5 kg yet again and this time winning the Olympic gold medal, defeating silver medalist Yotov by 10 kg. To this day, Militosyan is the last Armenian weightlifter to become an Olympic Champion.

Following the 1882 Olympics, Militosyan began representing his native Armenia.

Militosyan set the world record in the snatch for a third time in 1994 at the 1994 European Weightlifting Championships in Sokolov. the weight limit change. Militosyan is the first weightlifter from the independent Republic of Armenia to set a world record in weightifting. Militosyan represented Armenia in it's Olympic debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he came in sixth place.

Militosyan retired from weightlifting in 1999 and later worked as a weightlifting coach in his hometown of Gyumri.

Personal life
Israel is a cousin and student of fellow Soviet-Armenian Olympic weightlifting medalist Vardan Militosyan. Ironically, Vardan was the first Soviet-Armenian to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting, and Israel was the last.

Early life
Levon Julfalakyan was born in Leninakan Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia). Coming from an athletic background, both of his parents had been gymnasts. Levon attended gymnastics sections from an early age, then started wrestling in Gyumri Youth Academy. In 1982, he won the junior championship of the USSR, and in 1983, he won the senior championship of the USSR. He graduated from Gyumri Pedagogical Institute.

Career
Julfalakyan joined the Soviet national wrestling team in 1985 and, in that same year, won a gold medal at the FILA Wrestling World Cup team competition. Julfalakyan later became a European Champion when he won a gold medal at the 1986 Wrestling European Championships. Four months later, Julfalakyan also became a World Champion by winning a gold medal at the 1986 FILA Wrestling World Championships.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Julfalakyan competed in the weight category of 68 kg. Julfalakyan was very dominant in all of his matches and defeated every opponent by a wide margin of points. Julfalakyan was awarded an Olympic gold medal for his victory.

A year prior to becoming an Olympic Champion, Julfalakyan came in third place at the 1989 FILA Wrestling World Championships. He decided to retire from wrestling afterward.

Personal life
Julfalakyan became the head coach of the Armenian national Greco-Roman wrestling team in 1999. That same year, he was also elected the president of the Union of Armenian Olympians. In 2003, he became a Member of the Executive Committee of the NOC.

Julfalakyan currently lives in Yerevan. He is married and has two sons. His elder son, Arsen Julfalakyan, is also a wrestler and won an Olympic silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for Armenia and bore the national flag at the closing ceremony.

Biography
Mnatsakan Iskandaryan started Greco-Roman wrestling in 1978 under the guidance of Koryun Movsesian. In 1987, he became a Youth World Champion. Iskandaryan became a member of the USSR national Greco-Roman wrestling team in 1988. In that same year, he won a gold medal at the FILA Wrestling World Cup team competition. Iskandaryan remained a member of the Soviet national team until the Union's fall in 1991. He won a silver medal in the 1989 European Championships. In 1990, he moved to a heavier weight class, from lightweight (68 kg) to welterweight (74 kg), and won a 1990 World Championship gold medal. In 1991, Iskandaryan became a European Champion and two-time consecutive World Champion. He repeated the European success by winning a 1992 European CHampionships gold medal for a consectutive second time. Ranked as the number one wrestler in his division for the past few years, Iskandaryan entered the 1992 Summer Olympics as the gold medal favorite.

Although Iskandaryan's home of Armenia was now independent, all of the former Soviet Olympians still competed together at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, under the Unified Team. Iskandaryan had single-handedly defeated all of his opposition, and thus claimed the Olympic gold medal and became an Olympic Champion.

Iskandaryan underwent over two years of inactivity following his Olympic victory. He finally returned, now serving under the Russian flag, at the 1994 Wrestling World Championships, where he claimed his third World Championship gold medal. Iskandaryan competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was unable to win a medal and came in fifth place. Iskandaryan retired from wrestling after the 1996 Olympics and started coaching. As of 1996, he is the head coach of the youth wrestling team of Russia.

Biography
Nshan started boxing in Armenia in 1976. He began boxing under the Soviet Union. Munchyan won a gold medal at the 1987 European Amateur Boxing Championships. After the Union's fall in 1991, Munchyan began representing his native Armenia. He won a gold medal at the 1993 World Amateur Boxing Championships and a gold medal at the 1994 World Cup. He is the first boxer from the independent Republic of Armenia to win a medal in either competition.

Munchyan competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics where, after recieving a first round bye, he lost to Daniel Petrov, whom he previously defeated at the 1993 World Championships finals. Petrov went on the win the Olympic gold medal.

He is married and has three children.

Olympic Games Results
1996
 * 1st round bye
 * Lost to Daniel Petrov (Bulgaria) 5-11

World Amateur Championships Results
1986
 * Lost to Luis Rolon (Puerto Rico) 1-4

1989
 * Defeated Leszek Olszewski (Poland) RSC 1
 * Defeated Erdenentsogt Tsogtjargal (Mongolia) 17-9
 * Lost to Rogelio Marcelo (Cuba) 20-23

1993
 * Defeated Bernard Inom (France) 23-9
 * Defeated Eduard Gaifulin (Russia) 11-0
 * Defeated Albert Guardado (United States) 7-2
 * Defeated Daniel Petrov (Bulgaria) 8-6

1995
 * Defeated Pal Lakatos (Hungary) 11-11
 * Lost to Andrzej Rzany (Poland) 6-6

European Championships Results
1987
 * 1st round bye
 * Defeated Robert Isaszegi (Hungary) 5-0
 * Defeated Adrian Amzer (Romania) 5-0
 * Defeated Krasimir Cholakov (Bulgaria) 4-1

1989
 * Defeated Luigi Castiglione (Italy) 4-1
 * Lost to Robert Isaszegi (Hungary) DQ 3

1991
 * Defeated Jan Quast (Germany) 25-20
 * Lost to Pal Lakatos (Hungary) 19-23

World Cup Results
1994
 * Defeated Bulat Jumadilov (Kazakhstan) 12-8
 * Defeated Bernard Inom (France) 13-8
 * Defeated Pramunasak Phosuwan (Thailand) 11-6
 * Defeated Rafael Lozano (Spain) 15-6

Biography
He was born in the village Angeghakot, Sisian Oblast, Armenian SSR. In 1965, his family moved to the village Baghramyan, Echmiadzin region. In 1977, he began weight training under the guidance of Ashot Vilasyana. In the following year, he was able to perform with the normal masters of sports of the USSR.

In 1981, Mirzoyan became a member of the USSR national weightlifting team. Mirzoyan became a European and World Champion in 1983 by winning gold medals at the 1983 World Weightlifting Championships and 1983 European Weightlifting Championships, both in Moscow. In the course of both the competitions, Mirzoyan set new world records in the snatch, clean and jerk and the total exercise, all in the bantamweight (56 kg) division. Due to the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott, Mirzoyan was unable to participate that year. As the reigning World Champion, he would have been the favorite to win the Olympic gold medal.

Mirzoyan had began to pass his prime. Over the next few years he had started coming behind Bulgarian rivals Mitko Grablev and Neno Terziyski in competitions. In early 1988, Terziyski failed a doping test, resulting in a ban from weightlifting. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Mirzoyan came in second place, behind the original first place winner Grablev. However, Grablev also tested positive for doping and was disqualified. Thus, the title of Olympic Champion and the Olympic gold medal went on to Oksen Mirzoyan.

Oksen Mirzoyan completed his weightlifting career in 1991 and later took up coaching and sports officialing. He became the Head Coach of the Armenian national weightlifting team. Mirzoyan was also the Chairman of the Armenian Weightlifting Federation from 1998-2004. As of 2004, Mirzoyan is the Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia and the director of the Yerevan School Sports in weightlifting. Mirzoyan was reelected one of the Vice-Presidents of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia on March 9, 2013.

Personal life
Mirzoyan coaches his son, European Champion and Vice-World Champion Arakel Mirzoyan, who followed in his father's footsteps and took up weightlifting. Arakel competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for Armenia. Oksen has also coached his nephew, Arayik Mirzoyan, who is also a weightlifter.

Other weightlifting achievements

 * Senior world champion (1983);
 * Silver medalist in Senior World Championships (1982 & 1985);
 * Bronze medalist in Senior World Championships, senior European champion (1983);
 * Silver medalist in European Championships (1982, 1985, 1986);
 * Set fourteen world records during career.

Early life
Roman was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR to Yazidi parents. He started wrestling in 1995 and became a Junior World Champion in 2001 and a Junior European Champion in 2002.

Career
Amoyan won the Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg. Amoyan was Armenia's first Olympic medalist in wrestling in 16 years.

He won a bronze medal in 2009 and a silver medal in 2010 at the FILA Wrestling World Championships. He has also won two gold medals and three silver medals at the FILA Wrestling European Championships.

Amoyan was a member of the Armenian Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2010 FILA Wrestling World Cup. The Armenian team came in third place. Amoyan personally won a gold medal.

In 2011, Amoyan was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year. He had suffered a severe head injury early in the European Championships that year, but still bravely fought on, with a bloody wrapping on his head the whole time. Amoyan went on become a two-time European Champion despite the injury.

He failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Early life
Tigran was born on June 9, 1988 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia) to Gevorg Martirosyan, a well-known Armenian weightlifter, and Seda Yakhanedjyan. His fathers family is from Kars and his mothers family is from Sivas. He has an older and a younger brother and an older sister. Tigran was named after King Tigranes the Great, who ruled the Kingdom of Armenia at its greatest extent, and his father.

Tigran’s sister died when she was 9. Tigran was born a year later, on June 9, 1988, at 8:20 – the same day and hour as his dead sister was born. Tigran’s father had planted two apple trees in the name of his two firstborns, the Tigran’s older brother and sister. After the girl’s untimely death, though, the tree dried up. They never cut down the tree that year, either because of forgetfulness or just because of lack of time. Then it seemed that a miracle occurred – the tree began to blossom once again with Tigran’s birth.

Although Tigran’s father didn't make his sons follow in his foootsteps, they received a love of the sport at an early age from him. Hayk, Tigran’s older brother, became a Master of Sports in weightlifting. But he had to quit it because of family problems when their father died at the age of 45. Tigran started to practice weightlifting at the age of 11. By 13, he had already won Armenia’s Weightlifting Championship.

Career
After the death of his father, Martirosyan began weight training under the guidance of Ashot Mkhitaryan.

Tigran had a successful youth career, becoming a 2003 European Vice-Champion and a 2004 European Champion. In the same year, he won the gold medal of the 2004 European Championship among juniors. The following year, he won a gold medal at the 2005 European Championships among juniors again. Martirosyan also set two world records as a junior in the snatch and the total, both in the lightweight (69 kg) division, and still holds both of these records to this day.

In 2006, Martirosyan began performing in adult level competitions. He competed at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships and came in 6th place in the lightweight category with a total of 306 kg.

Martirosyan won the silver medal at the 2007 European Weightlifting Championships in Strasbourg, with 331 kg in total. The next year, he won the gold medal at the 2008 European Weightlifting Championships in Lignano, with 346 kg in total.

Martirosyan won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, lifting 153 in the snatch, 185 in the clean & jerk and 338 kg in the total. Martirosyan had tied in total with French weightlifter Vencelas Dabaya. Because Dabaya weighed a little less than Martirosyan, he was awarded the silver medal instead, despite Martirosyan having also lifted the second greatest total. At the age of 20 years and 64 days, Martirosyan became the youngest Olympic medalist from the independent Rupublic of Armenia.

In 2009, Tigran Martirosyan moved to a heavier weight class, from lightweight (69 kg) to middleweight (77 kg).

Martirosyan debuted in the middleweight division at the 2009 World Weightlifting Championships in Goyang, where he took second place with a total of 370 kg, losing only to the Chinese weightlifter Lu Xiaojun, who set two of the three middleweight world records at the Championships.

In a landslide victory, Martirosyan won a gold medal at the 2010 European Weightlifting Championships, becoming a two-time European Champion.

Weeks later, Martirosyan's mentor suddenly Ashot Mkhitaryan died of a heart attack on May 23, 2010.

Martirosyan competed at the 2010 World Weightlifting Championships in Antalya. Xiaojun had also returned and was considered a massive favorite to win the Championship once again. Martirosyan had scored the highest in the snatch and tied Xiaojun in the clean & jerk. As a result, Martirosyan defeated Xiaojun in a shocking upset and won the gold medal. Martirosyan lifted a total of 373 kg, just 5 kg short of the world record. Martirosyan made history as the first ever male weightlifter from the independent Republic of Armenia to become a World Champion in weightlifting. Martirosyan dedicated his victory to the memory of his late coach Ashot Mkhitaryan.

For his accomplishments that year, Martirosyan was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year for 2010.

Martirosyan could not repeat his success at the2011 World Weightlifting Championships. He managed to win a bronze medal in the snatch, but came in fourth place in the total. Martirosyan announced before the tournement that he sustained an injured shoulder and, as a result, was unable to compete at full strength. He received treatment in Germany and recovered soon afterward.

Martirosyan qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics and was Armenia's greatest gold medal hope. Unfortunately, he received a back injury just days before he was supposed to compete and was unable to participate. Martirosyan later revealed that this injury had been worsening over the past month. His injury was not as serious as his former one and he will be able to compete again the following year. He now has his sights set on the next Olympics.

Personal life
Martirosyan had the honor of lighting the fire at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan for the 5th Pan-Armenian Games on August 13, 2011.

Biography
Tigran Martirosyan began weight training in 1995 under the guidance of Vahan Bichakhchyan. Martirosyan became a three-time consecutive European Champion during his youth career in 1997, 1998 and 1999. He began performing in adult competitions in the light heavyweight division (82.5 kg) after 2003.

Martirosyan competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and came in seventh place with a total of 367.5 kg.

Martirosyan won a bronze medal at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships in Santo Domingo, finishing behind Andrei Rybakou and Aslambek Ediev. He snatched 172 kg and jerked an additional 198 kg for a total of 370 kg, 13 kg behind winner Rybakou.

Before the 2007 European Weightlifting Championships in Strasbourg, Martirosyan received a serious injury that would not only not allow him to partake at this event, but also to prepare for the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships in Chiang Mai, where he was only able to come in tenth place.

The following year, Martirosyan won a gold medal at the 2008 European Weightlifting Championships in Lignano. He dedicated his victory to fellow Armenian weightlifter and later weightlifting coach Khachatur Kyapanaktsyan, who tragicly died in a car crash a few months earlier.

Martirosyan returned to the Olympics at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He lifted 177 kg in the snatch, 203 kg in the clean & jerk and 380 kg in the total. He won an Olympic bronze medal. Martirosyan came behind both Rybakou and Lu Yong, who each totaled the current world record of 394 kg.

Martirosyan won a silver medal in the snatch at the 2009 World Weightlifting Championships in Goyang, but had to withdraw from the competition afterward due to a back pain.

Following an unsuccessful proformence at the 2010 World Weightlifting Championships, Martirosyan left the Armenian national weightlifting team.

Early life
Yurik Sarkisyan was born in the village of Samagar, Armenian SSR in the Echmiadzin region. He began weight training at the age of 13. In 1980, Sarkisyan was brought into the USSR national weightlifting team. He became a Weightlifting World Champion among juniors the following year.

He trained at VSS Sevan in Echmiadzin.

Career
At the age of 18, Sarkisyan competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics, the same year he joined the Soviet national team. He came in second place in the bantamweight (56 kg) division and won an Olympic silver medal. Following the Olympic Games, Sarkisyan moved up to the featherweight (60 kg) division, where he would compete at for the rest of his career.

In 1982, Sarkisyan cemented his place as the best featherweight weightlifter in the world by winning gold medals at both the 1982 European Weightlifting Championships and 1982 World Weightlifting Championships. Sarkisyan repeated the accomplishment to following year at the 1983 European Weightlifting Championships and 1983 World Weightlifting Championships, making him a consecutive two-time European and World Champion. He had also set several world records at this point. He was a clear gold medal favorite for the 1984 Summer Olympics, but was unable to participate at them because of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott.

Sarkisyan continued to rank among the top weightlifters in the world for years after the 1984 Olympic Games, but was not included in the USSR weightlifting team at the 1988 Summer Olympics]] in Seoul. After that, he did not train for a while and thought about the end of his weightlifting career.

In 1991, Sarkisyan continued weightlifting again. He had soon started competing for his native Armenia, which gained it's independence from the Soviet Union that same year. Yurik Sarkisyan was named the national team leader for the 1993 World Weightlifting Championships in Melbourne. He became the bronze medalist of the tournament. Afterward, Sarkisyan was invited to stay in Australia by the Australian weightlifting officials and later was offered an Australian citizenship. He signed a contract with the Australian Weightlifting Federation and later competed for Australia. Sarkisyan represented this country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, coming in seventh and ninth place, respectively. Sarkisyan also competed at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002. He won silver in 1998 and, at the age of 41, won the gold medal in 2002.

Personal life
Sarkisyan announced his retirement from his sports career in 2006 and focused on business and coaching. He coached his son David, who, in 2004 and 2008, became the winner of Oceania Championships in the weight classes of lightweight (69 kg) and middleweight (77 kg), respectively.

Sargsyan has been living in Australia since 1994, but often visits Armenia and intends to return to homeland. He celebrated his 50th birthday at Continental restaurant in Yerevan. Friend and former weightlifter Yurik Vardanyan also attended the party. Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan and Prosecutor General sent him congratulatory messages and a certificate of honor. In return, Sarkisyan conveyed the Armenian president a coin with his profile, made in Australia.

Weightlifting achievements

 * Senior world champion (1982 and 1983);
 * Silver medalist in Senior World Championships (1980, 1985, 1987, and 1991);
 * Bronze medalist in Senior World Championships (1981 and 1993);
 * Senior European champion (1982 and 1983);
 * Silver medalist in Senior European Championships (1980, 1981, 1984–1986, and 1991).

Early life
Yury Patrikeyev started Greco-Roman wrestling in his hometown of Kirov-Chepetsk under the direction of Paul Vertunova. In 1996, he enrolled in the Kuban State University of Physical Education and moved to Krasnodar, where he began wrestling under the direction of the honored coach of Russia, Igor Ivanov. Patrikeyev became a World Champion as a cadet in 1995 and a World Champion as a junior in 1999.

Career
Patrikeyev became a member of the Russian national Greco-Roman wrestling team in 2000. Two years later, he won a gold medal at the 2002 European Wrestling Championships and a bronze medal at the 2002 FILA Wrestling World Championships.

Patrikeyev won a gold medal at the 2004 European Wrestling Championships. Despite becoming European Champion, Patrikeyev lost in the finals of the Russian Championships against Khasan Baroyev later that year and was not included in the Russian national wrestling team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Patrikeyev considered the decision of the coaching staff unfair because Baroyev had long been exempted from participation in international competitions and had the opportunity to conduct targeted training for the Championship of Russia. In connection with this, Patrikeyev had a conflict with the head coach of the Russian national team in Greco-Roman wrestling, Gennady Sapunov, and in 2005, he made the decision to change his Russian citizenship to Armenian. At the same time, Yury continued to live and train in Krasnodar, but later served under the flag of Armenia. He officially left the Russian national team in 2005.

Now a wrestler of Armenia, Patrikeyev won a bronze medal at the 2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships. The following year he won his third gold medal at the 2008 European Wrestling Championships. Patrikeyev competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won an Olympic bronze medal. Patrikeyev became the first Olympian to win an Olympic medal for Armenia that wasn't born in Armenia.

Patrikeyev became a fourth-time the European Champion at the 2009 European Wrestling Championships, winning yet another gold medal. Patrikeyev returned to his native Russia for the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow. He won a silver medal at the competition.

Patrikeyev was a member of the Armenian Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2010 FILA Wrestling World Cup. The Armenian team came in third place. Patrikeyev personally won a gold medal.

Patrikeyev won bronze medals at both the 2011 European Wrestling Championships and 2012 European Wrestling Championships. Patrikeyev qualified for the At 2012 Summer Olympics in London by coming in first place at the European Qualification Tournament. In the first round, Patrikeyev defeated Baroyev, but in the next round lost to Bashir Babajanzadeh and was unable to win a medal. He came in eighth place.

Personal life
Patrikeyev has a wife and daughter. He has also stated that he considers himself an Armenian as much as a Russian.

Early life
Vladimir Yengibaryan was born on born April 24, 1932 a the fourth child in his family. He first entered boxing in 1946. He trained first under the leadership of Artyom Arutyunov, then Edward Aristakesyan. Yengibaryan trained at Trudovye Rezervy in his hometown of Yerevan, Armenia.

Career
Yengibaryan won a bronze medal in the bantamweight division at the 1951 USSR Championships. Yengibaryan joined the Soviet national boxing team in 1952 and was chosen by the USSR Olympic team to compete at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, but he did not participate due to injury. Yengibaryan and the Soviet team debuted in the European Amateur Boxing Championships at the 1953 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Warsaw. Yengibaryan won a gold medal in the lightweight division and became the first Soviet boxer to become a European Champion. In 1954, Yengibaryan moved up to the light-welterweight division and remained at this weight. He won his first Soviet National Championship in 1955 and would win it again in 1956 and 1958. Yengibaryan won an Olympic gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He is only the second Soviet boxer to become an Olympic Champion after Vladimir Safronov, who won an Olympic gold medal just hours earlier. Yengibaryan continued to win gold medals at the 1957 European Amateur Boxing Championships and 1959 European Amateur Boxing Championships. He went to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome as the clear favorite, but due to receiving a shoulder injury during competition, he lost in the quarterfinals to Polish boxer Marian Kasprzyk. After that, he decided to complete his career.

After retiring from his boxing career, he started coaching and founded the Children and Youth Sport School, which now bears his name, in Yerevan. This school was the first of many in the USSR boxing program. He spent 36 years as head of Armenia's national boxing academy. Yengibaryan later became a judge in the international category. In 1970's, he represented the USSR in the AIBA Referee Commission and acted as referee in major international competitions.

Olympic Games Results
1956
 * 1st round bye
 * Defeated Leszek Drogosz (Poland) points
 * Defeated Claude Saluden (France) points
 * Defeated Henry Loubscher (South Africa) points
 * Defeated Franco Nenci (Italy) points

1960
 * Defeated Werner Busse (Germany) RSC 1 (2:50)
 * Defeated Willie Ludick (South Africa) 3-2
 * Lost to Marian Kasprzyk (Poland) 0-5

Death
On February 1, 2013, Yengibaryan passed away at the age of 81. A memorial service will be held for him on February 3rd in Armenia. President of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia Gagik Tsarukyan, Sports Minister of Armenia Hrachya Rostomyan, Vice-President of the Boxing Federation of Armenia Derenik Gabrielyan and felloww 1956 Olympic Champion Albert Azaryan sent their condolences to Yengibaryan and his family, relatives and friends.

The memorial ceremony for Yengibaryan took place at the Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Yerevan. The ceremony was attended by President of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee Gagik Tsarukyan, Sport Minister Hrachya Rostomyan and various heads of sport federations and veterans. Immediately after the ceremony, National Olympic Committee Vice-President and member of the executive committee of the European Boxing Association Derenik Gabrielyan announced that from now on the annual Boxing Tournament after Gagik Tsarukyan will be renamed the tournament after Vladimir Yengibaryan.

Yengibaryan's daughter had requested for him to be buried in Armenia, but for some reason this went ignored. Yurik Vardanyan, a close friend of Yengibaryan's whom he had met during his time in the United States, has also expressed his condolences over Yengibaryan's death and has promised to do his best for Yengibaryan to be buried in his homeland. On February 12, 2012, it was announced that Yengibaryan will be buried in Armenia. His relatives made this decision together with the sport officials. Yengibaryan's body arrived in Armenia on Friday, February 15. His requiem ceremony will be held on the same day at Yerevan’s Saint Hovhannes Church. The funeral ceremony will take place on February 15 at the Saint John the Baptist Church. Yengibaryan will be buried in the Yerevan City Pantheon. The funeral will take place on February 16.

Personal life
Since 1993, he had been living in Los Angeles. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's dementia for the past few years leading up to his death.

Yengibaryan returned to Yerevan for his 80th birthday, where he received a ceremony dedicated to him.

Biography
Eduard started gymnastics in his early childhood under the guidance of his father - a three-time Olympic Champion, the legendary gymnast Albert Azaryan. In 1978, Eduard Azaryan became Champion of the USSR in the team all-around and joined the USSR national gymnastics team. In the same year, Azaryan won a bronze medal at the World Cup in the individual all-around and a silver medal at the 1978 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the team all-around.

Azaryan competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and participated in every artistic gymnastic event. He won a gold medal in the Team All-Around and came in fourth place in the Individual All-Around.

Personal life
Edvard's younger brother, Ruben, was also a gymnast who became a USSR Champion on the pommel horse in 1975.

Club career
Simonyan was a player for FC Dinamo Sokhumi during his youth career. His first coach was Shota Lominadze. After sixteen years of living in Sokhumi, Simonyan moved to Moscow, where he was invited by Vladimir Gorokhov and Abram Dangulov to join the the local club FC Krylya Sovetov Moscow, also known as the "Wings of the Soviets". where he was invited Vladimir Gorokhov and Abram Dangulov coached while club. Vladimir Gorokhov became Simonyan's first coach in Moscow.

For the first match of the Soviet Top League, Simonyan played in Sukhumi against FC Dinamo Minsk. When he arrived in the city, he found out that his house had been searched and his father was arrested. The arrest was organized by the Georgian authorities to put pressure on Simonyan in order to lure him into FC Dinamo Tbilisi. This provocation did not work and Simonyan continued to play for Krylya Sovetov Moscow, where he spent three years.

After Krylya Sovetov Moscow came in last place at the 1948 Soviet Top League, the club was disbanded. Dangulov moved to FC Spartak Moscow and became the new coach, while the players were assigned to various Moscow clubs. Simonyan was to be transferred to FC Torpedo Moscow. But in addition to receiving an invitation to play for Torpedo, Simonyan had also received an invitation to play for Spartak Moscow. Torpedo Moscow personally invited Simonyan through automobile ZIS director Ivan Likhachev. However, Simonyan had a stronger desire to play for Spartak Moscow. He signed with Spartak in 1949.

In the first year Simonyan had joined Spartak Moscow, the team came in third place at the 1949 Soviet Top League. However, Simonyan had already become the Soviet Top League Top Goalscorer, with a total of 26 goals. This was the most number of goals ever scored in the League. - The next year, Spartak came in fifth place at the 1950 Soviet Top League. Simonyan had once again become the Top Goalscorer, this time with a total of 34 goals scored. Simonyan broke his own record of most goals scored in the Soviet Top League. This record would stand until 35 years later, when Oleg Protasov scored 35 goals at the 1985 Soviet Top League. No one else has ever scored more goals in a single Soviet Top League than Simonyan. That same year, Spartak won the Soviet Cup for the first time.

Simonyan and Spartak had finally achieved victory at the 1952 Soviet Top League. Simonyan scored five goals that season. This was the fourth time Spartak had won the Top League. They had not won it in thirteen years. Spartak won the Top League again the following year at the 1953 Soviet Top League. Simonyan had also became the Soviet Top League Top Goalscorer for a third and final time with a total of 14 goals. Spartak won the 1956 Soviet Top League three years later. Simonyan scored 16 goals that season, just one short of the 1956 Top Goalscorer Vasily Buzunov. Simonyan won the Top League with Spartak for the last time as a player at the 1958 Soviet Top League. He scored nine goals throughout the season. Spartak also won the 1958 Soviet Cup for a second time.

Simonyan left the club in 1959. He made 233 appearances and scored 133 goals for Spartak throughout his career, a record that has not been surpassed to this day. Simonyan is widely considered to be the greatest FC Spartak Moscow player of all time.

International career
Simonyan joined the Soviet Union national football team in 1954.

He competed with the Soviet team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. The team defeated Germany, Indonesia, Bulgaria and finally Yugoslavia. They won the gold medal in football.

Simonyan was a member of the Soviet football team at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, its first World Cup. Because Team Captain Igor Netto was unable to play due to injury for most of the World Cup, Simonyan was named Captain of the USSR national football team in his place. The team was placed in Group 4, considered by the experts to be the toughest of the 1958 World Cup. The Union's games against England and Brazil were the most attended in the group stage. Simonyan scored a goal against England and was an important asset, as the Soviet team would have Soviet team would have been defeated without it. The Soviet Union lost to the Pelé-led Brazil team in the final group game. The USSR came in second place, which qualified them for the knockout stage. They were defeated by Sweden.-

Simonyan played his last match on June 19, 1958. Out of 20 internationals for the Soviet Union national football team, he managed to score 10 goals.

Managerial career
After retiring from football as a player, Simonyan became a manager. He became the manager and head coach of Spartak Moscow in 1960. Under his leadership, Spartak came in seventh place at the 1960 Soviet Top League and in third place at the 1961 Soviet Top League. Simonyan lead Spartak to victory in the Top League for the first time as a manager and coach at the 1962 Soviet Top League. The following year, Simonyan and Spartak won the 1963 Soviet Cup and became finalists at the 1963 Soviet Top League. The team came in eighth place at the Top League in 1964 and 1965. After Simonyan and Spartak won the 1965 Soviet Cup, Simonyan stopped managing the club that year. He soon started managing Spartak again in 1967. Spartak made it to the Top League finals again in 1968 but did not win. The club won the 1969 Soviet Top League, their second Top League title with Simonyan as head coach and manager. Simonyan and Spartak won the 1971 Soviet Cup. Simonyan stopped managing Spartak for good in 1972. He had been head coach for a record 12 years.

Simonyan, an Armenian himself, began managing and coaching Armenian club FC Ararat Yerevan in 1973. He lead the club to victory at 1973 Soviet Top League, considered by many to be one of the greatest moments in Armenian football history. Ararat Yerevan won the 1973 Soviet Cup as well that year. Under Simonyan, the club won its first ever Soviet titles. Simonyan stopped leading the club in 1974. He came back to Ararat Yerevan in 1984 and stopped managing for good in 1985. Between coaching and managing on Spartak and Ararat, Simonyan lead the combined clubs to first place three times, second place twice and third place twice in the Soviet Top League, making him the fifth most successful Top League manager and coach of all time.

He also managed the USSR national football team and Chornomorets Odessa. Simonyan later worked in senior positions at the Football Federation of the Soviet Union, Sports Committee of the USSR and the Russian Football Union.

On November 24, 2009, Simonyan was appointed acting president of the Russian Football Union following the resignation of Vitaly Mutko. Simonyan was in office until February 3, 2010. At a special conference of the Russian Football Union, Sergei Fursenko was chosen as the new president on February 3.

Simonyan was in attendance for the UEFA Euro 2012 match between Russia and Armenia in Yerevan, which ended in a draw. On March 25, 2011, the day before the match, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan awarded Nikita Simonyan with the "Medal of Honor." At the award ceremony, Simonyan said:

"I am honored to receive this esteemed award. You know, I'm one hundred percent Armenian. My parents, being Armenians Ardvina, once escaped from the genocide. My father was a great patriot. For me it was a great honor to lead the national team in 1973, 'Ararat.' And what did these guys win the title and the cup for me, as a coach, was a holiday. You can not pass, as it responded to the people. Indeed, it was a great team. So I'm a generation, and of course, all our people just grateful and worship."

After Sergei Fursenko resigned on June 25, 2012, Simonyan was appointed acting president of the Russian Football Union for a second time. Simonyan left office on September 3, 2012, when Nikolai Tolstoy was elected president of the Russian Football Union.

Simonyan, along with fellow Spartak veteran Alexander Mirzoyan, has personally sent well wishes to Yura Movsisyan in connection with his becoming a Spartak player. Simonyan wrote to Movsisyan, “Dear Yura, I hope that you win more titles at Spartak than I. I wish you success!” Movsisyan replied: “It will be difficult to exceed Simonyan’s achievements—[both] as a player and a coach. Thanks very much for such valuable gift. I know of Simonyan and Mirzoyan as the greatest players, and I am proud to be an Armenian just like them. I have not seen them play, but I know that they have done a lot for Spartak. I am not even close to them [in terms of accomplishments]. [But] I certainly do have plans. I want to score goals and achieve wins. [And] when something goes successfully, I will enter into history at that time.”

On 19 February 2013, Simonyan attended the grand opening of the new Spartak arena. He reminisced that if he were 20 years younger, he'd be happy to still play for the club.

Club
Spartak Moscow
 * Player
 * Soviet Top League (4): 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958
 * Soviet Cup (2): 1950, 1958
 * Soviet Top League Top Goalscorer (3): 1949 (26 goals), 1950 (34 goals), 1953 (14 goals)
 * 233 matches, 133 goals

Spartak Moscow
 * Manager
 * Soviet Top League (2): 1962, 1969
 * Soviet Cup (3): 1963, 1965, 1971

Ararat Yerevan
 * Soviet Top League (1): 1973
 * Soviet Cup (1): 1973

Country
Soviet Union
 * Olympic Games (1): [[Image:Med 1.png]] 1956
 * FIFA World Cup (1): 1958 Quarterfinalist

Individual

 * Order of Merit for the Fatherland 3rd class
 * Order of Merit for the Fatherland 4th class
 * Order of Friendship
 * Order of the Red Banner of Labour
 * Order of the Badge of Honor
 * Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin"
 * Medal "Veteran of Labour"
 * Olympic Order
 * Knight of the FIFA

Biography
Igor was born in Kiev to an Armenian discus thrower father, Aram Avetisovich Ter-Ovanesyan, and a Ukrainian volleyball playing mother, Valentina Elijah. His parents had met at the Kiev State Institute of Physical Education and were both taught there while he was growing up. He started athletics when he was fifteen and showed uncommon early talent. He broke the broad-jump record for his age group in his first competition. Igor entered the USSR national athletic team at the age of 17 and was a member of it for 17 years. Ter-Ovanesyan trained at Burevestnik, first in Kiev, later in Lviv, and then in Moscow. He hold a Ph.D., Professor, Department of Athletics, Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture. Ter-Ovanesyan published several monographs and books.

Ter-Ovanesyan is a double Olympic bronze medalist. He won Olympic bronze medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome - with a jump of 8.04 meters - and at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo - with a jump of 7.99 meters. He also competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1968 Summer Olympics and 1972 Summer Olympics. Ter-Ovanesyan also won many medals in the European Championships, including gold medals at the 1958 European Athletics Championships, 1962 European Athletics Championships and 1969 European Athletics Championships, making him a three-time European Champion in the outdoor stadium, and an indoor medal at the 1971 European Athletics Indoor Championships. Igor became the first European long jumper to jump the 8 meter mark. Ter-Ovanesyan set the European long jump record eight times and the world long jump record twice. He won in the USSR - USA Track and Field match in 1969. Ter-Ovanesyan is a repeated USSR Champion in the long jump and sprint disciplines. A unique achievement for European athletes, he won the U.S. Indoor Championship in 1963. Ter-Ovanesyan had the best yearly long jump in the world four times: in 1962, 1966, 1967 and 1969.

After retiring from his athletic long jumping career, he became the coach of the Soviet national long jumping team. He coached Ineta Radēviča, Valery Podluzhny, Wilhelmina Bardauskene, Tatyana Kolpakova, among others. He also became the head coach of the USSR national track and field team from 1983-1989. Ter-Ovanesyan once said his athletes broke more than ten world records during preparations for the 1984 Friendship Games. He later worked as chairman of the General Council of the coaching teams of the Sports Committee of Russia. In 1994, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation GKFT. As of 1991, Ter-Ovanesyan is a member of the central council of IAAF (IAAF Council Member).

Olympics

 * 1960 Rome: Bronze with 8,04 m behind Ralph Boston with 8,12 m and Bo Roberson with 8,11 m.
 * 1964 Tokyo: Bronze with 7,99 m behind Great Britain's Lynn Davies with 8,07 m and Ralph Boston with 8,03 m
 * 1968 Mexico: Fourth with 8,12 m behind Bob Beamon with 8,90 m, Klaus Beer (GDR) with 8,19 m and Ralph Boston with 8,16 m.

European Championships

 * 1958 Stockholm: Gold with 7,81 m before Kazimierz Kropidłowski with 7,67 m and Henryk Grabowski with 7,51 m.
 * 1962 Belgrade: Gold with 8,19 m before Rainer Stenius and Pentti Eskola, both with 7,85 m
 * 1966 Budapest: Silver with 7,88 m behind Lynn Davies with 7,98 m and before Jean Cochard with 7,88 m
 * 1969 Athens: Gold with 8,17 m before Lynn Davies with 8,07 m and Tõnu Lepik with 8,04 m
 * 1971 Helsinki: Silver with 7,91 m behind Max Klauss with 7,92 m and before Stanisław Szundrowicz with 7,87 m

World Records

 * 8.31 metres on 10 July 1962 in Yerevan
 * 8.35 metres on 19 October 1967 in Mexico City

Personal life
Ter-Ovanesyan has been married twice. His first marriage was to Yemelyanova Margarita Yurievna. They had a son, Igor (b. 1963), and a daughter, Karen (b. 1967). His second marriage was with Olga Klein Arturovna. In 1982, they had a daughter, Jana I. Klein.

Defection target
On the eve of the Rome Olympics, fellow sprinter Dave Sime was approached by the Central Intelligence Agency and recruited to help secure Ter-Ovanesyan's defection. Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a CIA agent in Rome, but that agent's manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect.

Early life
Norair was born in Sliven, Bulgaria to Armenian parents. His father was a baker and was very strong physically. Norair believed he inherited his father's strength. Like most Armenians in Sliven, Nurikyan took violin lessons. In 1958-1959 one of his teachers, who noticed his strong looks, told him "You won't make a violinist. You'd make a boxer."

The first sport Nurikyan took part in was basketball. He used to play with Boycho Branzov, a reknown Bulgarian basketball player. Nurikyan was too short to succeed in basketball. In their spare time, Norair and two of his friends decided to go into the weightlifting hall, where he was spotted by legendary weightlifting coach Ivan Abadzhiev. Abadzhiev offered Nurikyan to start training with him, feeling his talents were better spent in weightlifting. Nurikyan decided to accept his offer. Abadzhiev then promised him he'd make great progress in a year. Exactly one year later, Nurikyan became a Master of Sports.

Career
Nurikyan first had to go to the army and was later discharged. He then went to the Higher School of Sports, where Abadzhiev was now the federative coach of Sofia. Nurikyan was not the best at first, but with hard work soon became second in his category on the Bulgarian national weightlifting team, behind Atanas Kirov, the first Bulgarian to become a European Champion. He credited Abadzhiev for always believing in him as the reason why he improved.

In 1969, Nurikyan achieved his first international success outside Bulgaria, becoming third in European and fifth in the world that year. He soon became second in European and third in the world in 1971. During preparations in Bulgaria for the 1972 Summer Olympics, Nurikyan broke a bone in his right wrist in January 1972 and couldn't train. Abadzhiev then had the genius idea for him to just squat with the barbell. So, while others would snatch, Nurikyan would squat, and while other clean and jerked, he squatted. He did this for three months until his bone healed. Nurikyan's squats improved from 200 kg to 230 kg during this time.

On the first day of the 1972 Olympic Games, the bus that was taking them to the hall burst into flames. By fate, another bus was going that way and took the team in time for weighing. If they had not made it, they would have been disqualified.

The next day, competition in Nurikyan's category started. The favorite was Soviet Georgian Dito Shanidze, who was considered a sure winner by everyone. Nurikyan and Shanidze both set the military press Olympic record. Shanidze narrowly beat Nurikyan in the snatch. Abadzhiev told Norair the one with the stronger mind and character will become Olympic Champion. In order to win the Olympic gold medal, Nurikyan needed to lift 157.5 kg in the clean and jerk, which would be a new world record. Nurikyan pulled the barbell to his chest and then lifted it above his head. It took him three to steps to maintain his balance. The three white lamps lit up and Nurikyan became the Olympic gold medalist and set the division total record at 402.5 kg. Nurikyan became the first weightlifter from Bulgaria to become an Olympic medalist in weightlifting, an Olympic Champion in weightlifting and an Olympic Champion in heavy athletics.

After the 1972 Olympics, Nurikyan had met his wife and for a while training "went to the background." He began to get his "normal" second and third place in European and World Championships. In 1975, Nurikyan returned to top shape and was ready to win. It was at this time that Nurikyan and Abadzhiev tried an experiment. They tried to compete at a lower category. Nurikyan was unable to set a total at the World Championships that year and Abadzhiev was greatly criticized.

By 1976, Nurikyan had finally adjusted to his new category and won the European Championships in that weight category. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, Nurikyan had no problem winning his second Olympic gold medal. Nurikyan was later told by his wife that Abadzhiev had cried. Nurikyan became the first weightlifter from Bulgaria to become an Olympic medalist and Olympic Champion twice.

Nurikyan retired afterward in order to be with his family more. He soon became a coach, assistant to Abadzhiev on the national team. He later became head coach himself for sometime.

Personal life
Nurikyan met his wife, Merry, sometime after the 1972 Olympics. They got married sometime later. They had a son in 1974.

Weightlifting achievements

 * Olympic champion - 1972, 1976;
 * World champion - 1972, 1976;
 * Silver medalist in World Championships - 1973;
 * Bronze medalist in World Championships - 1971, 1974;
 * European champion - 1976;
 * Silver medalist in European Championships - 1972, 1973;
 * Bronze medalist in European Championships - 1969, 1974;
 * Set four world records during his career.

Early life
Born in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia), a city famous for its world class weightlifters, Militosyan took up weightlifting in 1964 under the guidance of Hakob Faradzhyana and joined the Soviet national team in 1975.

Career
A year after joining the Soviet weightlifting team, Militosyan won a gold medal at the 1976 European Weightlifting Championships and a silver medal at the 1976 World Weightlifting Championships. Militosyan repeated his success in 1978, becoming a two-time European Champion. The Soviet team chose Militosyan to compete at the 1976 Summer Olympics, where he won an Olympic silver medal. Militosyan became the first weightlifter from Armenia to win an Olympic medal. He left the Soviet national team in 1979. Militosyan set four world records during his career, all in the clean and jerk.

In 1980, Militosyan completed his weightlifting career after he was not selected to join the Soviet team at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He went on to work as a weightlifting coach in his native Armenia.

Personal life
Vardan is a cousin and teacher of fellow Soviet-Armenian Olympic weightlifting medalist Israel Militosyan. Ironically, Vardan was the first Soviet-Armenian to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting, and Israel was the last.

Olympic Games Results
1976
 * 1st round bye
 * Defeated Hassen Sheriff (Ethiopia) WO
 * Defeated Giovanni Camputaro (Italy) RSC 2
 * Defeated Ung Jo-Jong (North Korea) 5-0
 * Lost to Ramón Duvalón (Cuba) DQ 2

Early life
Suren was born in the village of Geghard in the Abovyan region of the Armenian SSR. In 1964, his family moved to Astrakhan, where, in 1969, he began to compete in Greco-Roman wrestling under the leadership of Honored Coach of the RSFSR, Vladimir Fomin. He won the USSR Championship in 1972 and 1974 among youth.

Career
In 1975, Nalbandyan won the USSR Championship as a senior and won a gold medal at the World Youth Championship. In 1976, he won the Championship of the Soviet Union again and became a member of the USSR national Greco-Roman wrestling team.

Nalbandyan won a bronze medal at the 1977 European Wrestlling Championships. Shortly afterward, he was chosen to participate at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Nalbandyan won an Olympic gold medal a gold medal. He became the first Armenian wrestler to become an Olympic Champion. The following year, he became the Champion of the USSR again and won a gold medal at the 1977 European Wrestlling Championships. He was a member of theSoviet team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but was unable to win a medal. He came in fourth place. Nalbandyan then completed his wrestling career.

Later, Nalbandyan began coaching. He developed a scientific approach to the general physical, power and speed training of young wrestlers.

Early life
Oganisyan was born on February 5, 1960 in Moscow, Russian SSR. He graduated from the Moscow Engineering and Construction Institute. As a youth, he became a European Champion in 1978 and a World Champion in 1979. Oganisyan played for the Spartak Moscow wrestling club.

Career
At the age of 20, Oganisyan was selected by the Soviet Olympic team to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Oganisyan won an Olympic gold medal. He became the first Armenian freestyle wrestler and the second Armenian wrestler to become an Olympic Champion.

Oganisyan won a gold medal at the 1981 FILA Wrestling World Championships and 1981 Wrestling World Cup the following year. However, he also recieved a serious back injury that year and had to take some time off. When he returned, he won a gold medal at the 1986 Wrestling European Championships. Oganisyan retired from wrestling sometime after winning his second USSR Championship in 1989.

Personal life
Sanasar's younger brother is Gor Chahal, a famous artist.

Biography
Ter-Mkrtychyan was born on March 19, 1971 in Yerevan. In 1985, he took up Greco-Roman wrestling in Moscow and became fascinated with the sport. He won the Junior European Championships in 1990 and competed as a senior from then on. He became a member of the Soviet national Greco-Roman wrestling team soon afterward. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, he won a gold medal at the 1992 Wrestling European Championships and competed for the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Ter-Mkrtchyan advanced to the finals, where he faced reigning Olympic Champion Jon Rønningen. Ter-Mkrtchyan was ahead 1-0 for most of the fight but Rønningen scored 2 points in the final seven seconds, resulting in Ter-Mkrtychyan's defeat. He won an Olympic silver medal. Ter-Mkrtychyan received Armenian citizenship that same year. He later went with his parents to the United States.

Seeking a better wrestling environment, he got in touch with his former Soviet national teammate Arawat Sabejew, who had been living in Germany. Sabejew recommended him to the German Federal Government and, in 1993, Ter-Mkrtychyan received German citizenship with the help of the Chairman of German wrestling club VfK Schifferstadt, Litzenburger Robert, who had good relations with various government authorities. Ter-Mkrtchyan was naturalized in November 1993. In Germany, he wrestled for the first for VfK Schifferstadt, but changed clubs to KSV Köllerbach.

Ter-Mkrtychyan continued to have a successful wrestling career in Germany. He won a gold medal at the 1994 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Tampere. He became the first German to become a World Wrestling Champion at bantamweight (52 kg).

He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, but didn't win a medal. Ter-Mkrtychyan lost in the first round, but dominated Rønningen with a score of 9-0 in the second. He ended up in ninth place.

Ter-Mkrtychyan returned to the Olympics a third time at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He made it to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by eventual gold medalist Sim Kwon-Ho of South Korea. Ter-Mkrtychyan was ahead in the first round with a score of 3-2, but was defeated in the end by score of 4-6. He won the fifth place match afterward.

His sporting ambitions were slowed by knee surgery in early 2001. He often had injury problems during the further course of his career. After failing to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics, he retired.

Career
Varteres won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney at the age of 20. He also won a gold medal at the 2000 European Wrestling Championships earlier that year. Samourgachev won a gold medal at the [[2002 World Wrestling Championships.

Samourgachev won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The following year, he won his second World Championship gold medal at the 2005 World Wrestling Championships and, the following year after that, won his second European Championship gold medal at the 2006 European Wrestling Championships.

He came in seventh place at the 2008 Summer Olympics following a controversial defeat in the quarterfinals.

In December 2008, Samourgachev won the Sports Arbitration Court case in Lausanne against the vice-president of FILA Mario Saletniga, who unlawfully intervened in the quarterfinal match between Samourgachev and Hungarian Péter Bácsi at the Olympic Games in Beijing, which resulted in Samourgachev losing to Bácsi.

In September 2012, he announced the completion of his athletic career.

Personal life
Varteres has an older brother, Rafael Samourgachev (born 1963), who was a member of the Armenian national Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2000 Summer Olympics and is now the vice president of the Russian Wrestling Federation. Varteres got married in 2009. He has three children: Albert (born 2009) and twins Simon and Suren (born 2011). He also has niece named Tatiana Samourgachev, who plays tennis at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

On July 10, 2004, a monument of Samourgachev was erected on the Rostov-on-Don square of Karl Marx in the Nakhichevan-on-Don district of the city. The statue was sculpted by David Begalov. An inscription reads, "Varteres Samurgashev — Don deserved first Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling."

Samurghashev obtained Armenian citizenship and became a dual citizen on December 27, 2012 by decree of President Serzh Sargsyan. Varteres stated receiving Armenian citizenship was one of his most memorable experiences. “I was born and raised in Rostov-on-Don, but I am Armenian, and that says it all,” he said.

Early life
Vardanyan began wrestling in his hometown of Leninakin, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia). After the 1988 Spitak earthquake, he moved to Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. He lives in Kiev as of 2000. He graduated from Zaporozhye National Technical University. He was a soldier of the State Border Service of Ukraine.

Career
Vardanyan became a Junior World Champion in 2000. He competed at senior permanently in 2003. Vardanyan won silver medals at the 2003 European Wrestling Championships and 2003 World Wrestling Championships. The next year, he became a European Champion by winning a gold medal at the 2004 European Wrestling Championships. Vardanyan had qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics, but was unable to win a medal. In 2008, Vardanyan won a gold medal at the 2008 European Wrestling Championships. He was now a two-time European Champion.

Vardanyan returned to the Olympics at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He upset the reigning Olympic Champion and Azeri flag bearer Farid Mansurov in his first match. He next lost to eventual silver medalist Kanatbek Begaliev in the quarterfinals. Vardanyan rebounded with wins over Jake Deitchler and Nikolay Gergov in the repechage rounds to win an Olympic bronze medal.

Vardanyan won his second World silver medal at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships. He later tried to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics at the 2012 Olympic Qualification Tournament. Vardanyan came in fourth place. Only the top three wrestlers qualified.

In October 2010, Armen organized and hosted a Greco-Roman wrestling tournament in the youth age group. The tournament was attended by 90 children from Zaporizhzhia, who were divided into three age groups. In 2012, the tournament was held for a third time and it involved 136 participants from Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk.

Vardanyan became a coach of the national team of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine in Greco-Roman wrestling. Vardanyan approved it at the annual conference of the Association of Social Organizations "Union of Armenians of Ukraine."

Politics
In 2012, Vardanyan ran for the Verkhovna Rada in the party All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" for the District № 76. According to the declaration filed by the candidate, the total revenue for the 2011 campaign of Armen was about 120 thousand hryvnia. In the electoral program, in addition to common purposes of the united opposition, Armen pledged to create a network of sports facilities, clubs that can satisfy the needs of the population. In the Verkhovna Rada elections, Armen failed to be elected, taking fourth place.

Biography
Chakhoyan was born in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia), where many great weightlifters hail from. He won a silver medal at the 1994 World Weightlifting Championships. Chakhoyan set the world record in the snatch at 175.5 kg in the light heavyweight division. He became the second weightlifter from Armenia to set a world record, after Israel Militosyan. Chakhoyan also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and came in sixth place.

He started representing Australia sometime later. Chakhoyan came in sixth place again at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won a gold medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane and set a world record during the competition, but tested positive for doping afterward. He was stripped of the record and medal and was suspended for two years. When he returned, he won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships.

Chakhoyan lifted 175.0 kg in the snatch at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He attempted to lift a clean & jerk of 207.5 kg, which would have won him the Olympic gold medal. However, he was unable to lift a successful jerk and dropped out of the competition.

In April 2007, he tested positive for doping again and received a life ban, which is mandatory for a second offence.

Biography
Rafael was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR to Armenian parents.

He started weightlifting in 1946. In his first Soviet Championship in 1949, he won a gold medal at bantamweight (56 kg). In 1950, Chimishkyan won silver at the World Weightlifting Championships and gold at the European Weightlifting Championships and then switched to featherweight (60 kg). He first won a silver at the Soviet Championships that year in this new category. Chimishkyan became a two-time World Champion (1954 and 1955), six-time European Champion (1950, 1952, 1954-57) and five-time USSR Champion (1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1960).

Chimishkyan won an Olympic gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He is the second Soviet weightlifter to become an Olympic Champion. Chimishkyan set 10 world records during his career: three in the snatch, two in the clean and jerk and five in the total.

After finishing his sporting career, Chimishkyan was a Category One international weightlifting referee and was active in the Georgian Weightlifting Federation. He later became the Honorary Vice-President of the Georgian Weightlifting Federation. Chimishkyan was named the Best Weightlifter of Georgia of the Twenty-First Century.

Biography
Artem Teryan was born on March 5, 1930 in Kirovabad in an Armenian family originating from the village Banants. He lost his father, who died in World War II, when he was very young. He started wrestling in 1945. He first became interested in the Armenian Kokh, then moved on to the studies of classical wrestling. His first coach was Andrew Danielian.

After high school, Teryan entered the Baku Institute of Physical Education and moved to Baku. In 1950, he won the first USSR Championship in Greco-Roman wrestling in the lightest weight category. In 1951, he became the Champion of the USSR in the classical and freestyle wrestling.

Teryan became a member of the USSR national Greco-Roman wrestling team in 1952 and competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and won a bronze medal in the bantamweight category (57 kg). He was a member of the first Soviet wrestling team to compete at at World Championships at the 1953 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Naples. Teryan was the winner of his division and won a gold medal. In the finals, he beat Olympic Champion Imre Hódos. Teryan is the first athlete from Azerbaijan to become a World Champion.

He later served in the featherweight weight class (62 kg). In 1955, after a fall off his bike, which led to the fracture of the clavicle, he was forced to complete his career and went onto coaching in the sports society Dynamo. In April 1970, he was murdered as a victim of domestic violence murders.

Biography
Ara Khachatryan was born on September 13, 1982 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia), a city well known for its weightlifters. Under personal trainer Alexan Karapetyan and coach Boghos Poghosyan, Ara began weight training from an early age.

Ara joined the Armenian national weightlifting team first at a weight of 77 kg. At the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships in Santo Domingo, Khachatryan scored a total of 357 kg and won a bronze medal. Khachatryan won a silver medal at the 2007 European Weightlifting Championships in Strasbourg with a total of 361 kg, coming only behind compatriot Gevorg Davtyan. He repeated the silver medal the next year at the 2008 European Weightlifting Championships in Italy, scoring just 1 kg behind the gold medalist. In the same year, he went to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he finished in seventh place. Moving up to the 85 kg category in 2010, Khachatryan lifted a total of 368 kg at the 2010 European Weightlifting Championships to win his third European silver medal. Later that year Khachatryan competed at the 2010 World Weightlifting Championships, where, after winning the gold medal in the snatch, he received a serious arm injury and was forced to drop out from the competition. Khachatryan competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was unable to set a total.

Personal life
He is married and has a son and a daughter.

Khachatryan's mentor, Ashot Mkhitaryan, suddenly died of a heart attack on May 23, 2010.

Biography
Meline Daluzyan started weight training in 2002 under the leadership of Artashes Nersisyan. Her parents opposed her passion at first, but later became proud of their daughter's achievements. She became an Armenian Champion seven times. In 2005 and 2006, Daluzyan won the Junior European Championship twice.

Daluzyan won a bronze medal at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships. She became the first female weightlifter from Armenia to win a World medal. The next year, Daluzyan won a gold medal at the 2007 European Weightlifting Championships and became the first Armenian women to become a European Champion in weightlifting. She repeated this success at the 2008 European Weightlifting Championships, becoming a two-time European Champion. Daluzyan was set to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but she suffered an acute attack of pancreatitis two weeks before the Olympics and was forced to withdraw from the competition. She was substituted with Hripsime Khurshudyan.

In 2010, Daluzyan won a silver medal at the 2010 European Weightlifting Championships and a bronze medal at the 2010 World Weightlifting Championships. She finally made her Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics but was unable to set a total.

Biography
Sos Hayrapetyan's first passion was football. He only started to pursue field hockey seriously in 1976. Within a few years, he had grown into one of the leading Soviet players. He started his career in 1978 at SKA (Sverdlovsk). [3] In 1978 and 1979, as a member of the club, he won the silver medal in the Championship of the USSR twice, and in 1980, became the Champion of the USSR. From 1981 to 1987, he played for the club Dynamo (Alma-Ata). During these years he became the Champion of the USSR seven times, won the USSR Cup four times and won the European Cup twice. From 1988 to 1992, he was a player of hockey club Hrazdan (Razdan).

From 1978 to 1991, Hayrapetyan was part of the USSR national field hockey team. In those years, the Soviet national hockey team had great success in its early history. In 1980, they won an Olympix bronze medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. They won the Intercontinental Cup in 1981 and, in 1983, won a silver medal at the European Championships, losing only in the penalty shootout in the finals. Subsequently, coach Eduard Eirich celebrated the confident game line of defense of his team, highlighting the unmistakable game of Hayrapetyan and Farit Zigangirov during this tournament. In 1984, due to the decision of the Soviet political leadership to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics, the USSR Olympic team could not perform at the Olympics. Instead, the Soviet athletes competed at the Friendship Games, where the Soviet national field hockey team came in first place. All the players of the team were awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports for their victory. Hayrapetyan was a member of the USSR field hockey team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where the team came in seventh place, and in 1992, participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as part of the Unified Team. The team came in tenth place.

In 1992, Sos Hayrapetyan moved to the German city of Hamburg and, from 1992 to 2004, played for the field hockey club from the city, Uhlenhorster HC. In 2004, after winning silver medals at the club championship in Germany, Hayrapetyan came to coaching. He also helped in training his son, the national player of the Armenia national football team Levon Hayrapetyan.

Biography
Armen Bagdasarov was a member of the Uzbekistan national judo team from 1993 to 2001. The peak of his athletic career began in 1996, when he won a gold medal at the 1996 Asian Judo Championships and won an Olympic silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He later won a silver medal at the 1998 Asian Games and became a two-time Champion of Asia at the 1999 Asian Judo Championships. Bagdasarov also competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics without success. He also has a World Championship silver medal in kurash. For his sport achievements, Bagdasarov was awarded the title Honored Sportsman of the Republic of Uzbekistan. On the tenth anniversary of the independence of Uzbekistan, a series of stamps honoring athletes were published, one of which is dedicated to the sporting achievements of Armen Bagdasarov.

In 2001, Armen Bagdasarov completed his career and became the head coach of the Uzbekistan national judo team. Later, he headed the National Federation of Sports of Uzbekistan. At the same time, he is the Director of the National High School Sports Skills On Martial Arts. In 2006, he was awarded the honorary title Honored Coach of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Biography
Arsen Galstyan was born on February 19, 1989 in the village of Nerkin Karmiraghbyur in the north-east of Armenian SSR. His father was a football player, he played for the club Impuls FC Dilijan in the second half of the 1970s and later played as a part of FC Ararat Yerevan. While living in Armenia, Galstyan played the drums in the national ensemble. When he was seven, his family moved to Russia and settled in the stanitsa village of Giaginskaya, Adygea. That's just not always judo. He studied at the School № 4 of the village and started judo at a local sports club. Galstyan first played volleyball, then football, before judo. His brothers, Arman and Tigran, also compete in judo. Igor Romanov was the first coach Arsen and is still his personal trainer.

Galstyan later moved to Krasnodar, where he currently lives. He worked as a junior inspector of security detention center № 1 FPS in Russia's Krasnodar region. Galstyan was a student in the sports department of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University.

In 2007, he finished third at the Russian National Championship and, in the same year, he first represented Russia internationally. He has been a member of the Russian national judo team since 2007. In 2009, he became a European Champion, and in 2010 he won a bronze medal in the World Championship.

Galstyan competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's -60 kg division. Galstyan was an underdog and found himself fighting all of the favorites. In the semifinals, he bested Asian Champion Choi Gwang-Hyeon. Galstyan next overcame reigning two-time World Champion Rishod Sobirov, ranked number one by the International Judo Federation, in the semifinals. Finally, Arsen Galstyan and Hiroaki Hiraoka fought in the finals. Galstyan defeated Hiraoka with an ippon after 41 seconds. Galstyan scored the ippon as he was about to fall victim to an ippon of Hiraoka's. He achieved his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal and brought Russia its first medal of the Olympic Games. Galstyan is the first ever judoka from the Russian Federation to win an Olympic gold medal. He dedicated his victory to the victims of the flood in the Krasnodar region.

R-Sport News Agency named Galstyan Russia’s second most successful athlete for 2012. He was also ranked in Russia's top ten athletes of 2012 by the Russian Sports Journalists Federation.

He is already thinking about a new goal - the next Olympic Games.

Personal life
In December 2010, Galstyan fought, as a sparring partner, against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a black belt and former judo champion.

His father was his last football coach. Arsen's two brothers, senior Tigran and junior Arman, are both masters of judo and help Arsen train. Galstyan is not married. As of 2012, Galstyan lives in the city of Krasnodar.

Galstyan visited Armenia after winning his Olympic gold medal and was called a hero by those in his home country, the most enjoyable Olympic moment for him. He still considers Armenia to be his home and country. Armenian Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Hrachya Rostomyan congratulated Galstyan on his 2012 Olympic victory. Galstyan also urged all the foreign Armenian athletes to be closer ties with the homeland.

Awards

 * Honored Master of Sports of Russia (March 26, 2012)
 * Order of Friendship (13 August 2012) - for outstanding contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high achievements in sports at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.

Early life
David was born on October 26, 1983 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR to an Armenian family. David received his name from his uncle, his fathers brother. His uncle was a wrestler and took David to his practices. After the beginning of the war in Karabakh, the family was forced to move to Armenia and then later to Russia. They lived in Pyatigorsk for 13 years. The family rented a room in a four-storey apartment in which David's parents, brother and grandmother lived in.

In the fourth grade, David already knew some basics of combat from his uncle and once got into a fight with two classmates. He fought for what was right, but didn't win. When David came home, he scattered all of his school things around the house because he was angry. When his mother came home from work, he told her what's wrong, and she started crying and tried to clam him. His mother told him to go take revenge and he did. This is how everything started. Ayrapetyan started boxing when he was 13 years old under Valery Entaltseva. He graduated from North Caucasus State Technical University, Faculty of Law, Stavropol, Russia.

Career
Ayrapetyan became the 2002 World Youth Champion in his weight class after boxing for just six years.

He was included in the Russian national boxing team in 2006 and won a gold medal at the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Plovdiv. Ayrapetyan is only the second Russian boxer to become a European Champion in the light flyweight division, after the highly-decorated veteran Sergey Kazakov. In 2006 and 2007, Ayrapetyan beat Kazakov at the Russian Championships and took his spot on the national team as first in the light flyweight division. At the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, Ayrapetyan beat returning Vice-Champion Pál Bedák in the first round but next lost to reigning World Champion Zou Shiming, who went on to win the World Championships again. Ayrapetyan competed at the 2088 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He unexpectedly lost in the first match to Georgiy Chygayev, who won the European Championship at flyweight that year and then moved down in weight class.

Ayrapetyan reached the finals at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Milan and won the silver medal. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships after losing to now reigning World and Olympic Champion Shiming, who went on to win the World Championship yet again. Ayrapetyan advanced to the semifinals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and won an Olympic bronze medal.

Awards

 * Medal of the Order, For Services to the Fatherland, II degree (13 August 2012) - for outstanding contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high achievements in sports at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.

Biography
Aghasi Manukyan was born February 27, 1967 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR. He started wrestling in 1977 under the coaching of Aram Sargsyan. In 1984 he won the Youth European Championships and in 1987 he won the Youth World Championships. Manukyan was recruited into the USSR national Greco-Roman wrestling team in 1988. That same year, he came in first place at the FILA Wrestling World Cup team competition.

After Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union, Manukyan began representing his native country. Manukyan won a gold medal at the 1993 World Wrestling Championships in his debut as an Armenian wrestler. Manukyan is the first ever wrestler from the independent Republic of Armenia to become a Wrestling World Champion in either Greco-Roman or freestyle wrestling. He is also the second athlete to become a World Champion under the flag of Armenia, after Nshan Munchyan. Manukyan won two silver medals at the European Championships in 1994 and 1995. He also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

In 1996, he finished his wrestling career and began coaching. Manukyan coached the Armenian national junior Greco-Roman wrestling team from 1998 to 1999. From 2001 to 2004, he worked in the Sports Committee of the Shirak region of Armenia. In 2006, he moved to the United States. Since 2011, he has worked at the Olympic training center located in Marquette.

Personal life
Aghasi has two brothers who are also wrestlers. His brother Michael (b. 1964) was a Soviet Champion and European Youth Champion of the USSR in Greco-Roman wrestling and his brother Samvel (b. 1974) was a Champion of Armenia and fellow Olympian at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Biography
Mkhitar Manukyan was born September 20, 1973 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia). He started Greco-Roman wrestling at the age of ten under the direction of Yuri Karapetyan. Manukyan lost both of his parents and a sister in the 1988 Spitak earthquake. According to him, this tragedy helped him in wrestling. He became a Junior World Champion twice in 1990 and 1991. From 1993 to 1996, Manukyan was a member of the Armenia national Greco-Roman wrestling team. He won bronze medals at the 1995 FILA Wrestling World Championships and 1996 European Wrestling Championships. Manukyan participated at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

In 1997, Manukyan received an invitation from the Greco-Roman wrestling head coach of Kazakhstan, Daulet Turlyhanova, and moved to Almaty and continued to compete under the flag of Kazakhstan. In the same year, Manukyan won a gold medal at the 1997 Asian Wrestling Championships. He later won a gold medal at the 1998 FILA Wrestling World Championships. In 1999, Manukyan became a two-time Asian and two-time World Champion at the 1999 Asian Wrestling Championships and 1999 FILA Wrestling World Championships. Manukyan was recognized as the best fighter of the year for 1999 by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. He was one of the medal favorites for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but in the preliminary stage of the competition, he unexpectedly lost and came in seventh place.

In January 2001, Manukyan underwent a difficult surgery on the cervical vertebrae due to a serious back injury and then spent a long time recovering. He later couldn't get to his previous level. With difficulty, he was able to be selected for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Despite heavily odds against him, Manukyan was able to win an Olympic bronze medal. In the semifinal, he received his only loss to Seref Eroglu. At the end of 3 minutes, Manukyan led 3-2. At the 5th minute of a conflict, Eroglu's coach ran on the carpet and the judge gave a yellow card. The fight ended suddenly. Manukyan lost, although he was leading. Nonetheless, this did not stop Manukyan from winning bronze by defeating Jimmy Samuelsson. An Olympic medal was his dream, and he realized it.

In 2005, Manukyan completed his wrestling career. He became an assistant coach of the Kazakhstan Greco-Roman wrestling team. Manukyan is now the head coach of the wrestling team.

Personal life
Manukyan is happily married to a wife named Arevik, an Armenian woman who is also from Gyumri. They both have a daughter.

Biography
Arayik Gevorgyan was born January 22, 1973 in a village of the Artashat region of the Armenian SSR. He started wrestling in 1984 under the leadership of Razmik Goletsyana. From 1989 to 1991, he was a member of the USSR junior freestyle wrestling team. Gevorgyan became a European Junior Champion in 1991. In 1992, Gevorgyan joined the Armenia youth freestyle wrestling team. Gevorgyan became a European Youth Champion in 1992 and a World Youth Champion in 1993. After that year, Gevorgyan joined the Armenian national freestyle wrestling team. Gevorgyan is a three-time consecutive World Wrestling Champion, having won a gold medal at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships, 1997 World Wrestling Championships and 1998 World Wrestling Championships. Gevorgyan is the first ever wrestler from the independent Republic of Armenia to become a Wrestling World Champion in freestlye wrestling. He is also the first European Championship medalist in either Greco-Roman or freestlye wrestling and only the third European Championship gold medalist in freestyle wrestling from the independent Republic of Armenia. Gevorgyan is also a three time Olympian who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics but never won an Olympic medal. He completed his international wrestling career after the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Biography
Aram Margaryan was born March 27, 1974 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. He engaged in freestyle wrestling under Andranik Aroyan and Norayr Serobian. Margaryan was included in the USSR junior freestyle wrestling team in 1991. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Margaryan stood under the flag of his native Armenia. He soon joined the Armenian youth freestyle wrestling team in 1992. Margaryan became a European Youth Champion in 1994. At the age of 21, Margaryan became a member of the Armenian national freestyle wrestling team.

Margaryan won a gold medal at the 2002 World Wrestling Championships in Tehran. This was the greatest success of his career. He was named Sportsman of the Year by Armenian sports reporters for his performance. Margaryan is only the second World Wrestling Champion in freestyle wrestling from the independent Republic of Armenia, after Arayik Gevorgyan.

In 2003, Aram Margaryan ended his wrestling career and went on to coaching. For several years he was the head coach of the Armenian youth and senior freestyle wrestling teams. He was succeeded by Avetik Vardanyan. Margaryan later worked at the Yerevan Olympic sports college. On October 5, 2010, the college was visited by National Olympic Committee of Armenia President Gagik Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan praised the work of the college teaching staff. For the significant contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, Tsarukyan awarded Margaryan the Medal of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia Hrant Shahinyan.

Biography
Martin Berberyan started freestyle wrestling in 1987 under the leadership of Samvel Markarian. He became a World Junior Championships silver medalist in 1997 and a European Junior Champion in 1998. In 1999, Berberyan was selected as a member of the Armenian national freestyle wrestling team. Berberyan came in sixth place at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, his best Olympic result. Berberyan won a gold medal at the 2004 European Wrestling Championships. The 2004 European Championships were hosted by Ankara and competitions were held on April 24, the same day as the Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey began. Because Berberyan became a European Champion at the competition, the Armenian national anthem, Mer Hayrenik, was played in the Turkish capital on that day. The success of Martin Berberian received wide publicity in Armenia. Immediately after returning to Yerevan, National Olympic Committee of Armenia President Gagik Tsarukyan handed Berberyan the keys to a new car as a reward.

Berberyan came in eleventh place at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. After the Olympics, he moved up in weight class, from 55 kg to 60 kg. He debuted in this new weight class in 2005. Berberyan won a bronze medal at the 2005 FILA Wrestling World Championships that year. His career was interrupted for the next two years do to his recent marriage and move to the United States. Berberyan returned to the mat in 2008 and qualified to take part at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He came in seventeenth place. After that, Martin Berberyan decided to complete his wrestling career. As of 2008, he is the main wrestling coach at the Los Angeles Sports Club, International Sports Union.

Biography
Ruslan Basiev was born on June 20, 1979. He took up freestyle wrestling in 1995 under the guidance of Aslan Gabaraev. Basiev won a bronze medal at the 2005 Russian Championships in Krasnodar. In 2006, he defected to the Armenian national freestyle wrestling team. That same year, Basiev won a bronze medal at the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Guangzhou. He won a silver medal at the 2009 European Wrestling Championships in Vilnius. Basiev became an Armenian Champion in 2010 and 2011. He was unable to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2012, the head coach of the Armenian freestyle wrestling team Araik Baghdadyan thanked him for his performances in the national team and said that Ruslan will not compete for the national team anymore. Basiev returned to his native Dagestan.

Biography
Andranik Hakobyan was born on 6 October 1981. Hakobyan participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won in the first round of the Olympic tournament, but lost in the second. In late 2008, Andranik got the right to compete at the 2008 Boxing World Cup in Moscow. The tournament brought together the best amateur boxers in all weight classes. Hakobyan was able to show all his capability and won the Cup in the middleweight (75 kg) category.

Hakobyan won a silver medal at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Milan. After winning five straight matches, he lost to Abbos Atoev in the finals. Hakobyan won independent Armenia's first silver medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. Hakobyan became an Armenian Champion in 2010. Although he lost in the quarterfinals at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships due to controversial scoring, his proformence was still good enough to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he was unable to win a medal.

Career
Danielyan won a bronze medal at the 2004 Junior World Amateur Boxing Championships in Jeju. Danielyan won a bronze medal at the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Plovdiv. He reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, and thus qualified for the upcoming Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Danielyan beat Thomas Essomba in the first round before, but lost to Birzhan Zhakypov in the following round. Danielyan won a gold medal at the 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Liverpool. He defeated Jose de la Nieve Linares in the finals. Danielyan, along with Eduard Hambardzumyan, became the first boxers from the independent Republic of Armenia to become European Champions. He also won a bronze medal at the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Moscow. Danielyan became an Armenian Champion in 2010 and 2012.

Biography
Eduard Hambardzumyan was born on February 23, 1986 in Sochi, Russian SSR. Hambardzumyan won a gold medal at the 2004 Junior World Amateur Boxing Championships in Jeju. He defeated Argenis Mendez in the final. In 2006, he won a silver medal at the Russian Championships. Hambardzumyan began representing Armenia in 2007. He made it to the quarterfinals at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, guaranteeing himself participation in the upcoming Olympics. Hambardzumyan lost in his first match at the 2008 Summer Olympics to eventual gold medalist Manuel Félix Díaz. Hambardzumyan won a gold medal at the 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Liverpool. He defeated Gyula Káté, who was injured in the first round of the match and was removed from the competition by the doctor, in the finals. Hambardzumyan, along with Hovhannes Danielyan, became the first boxers from the independent Republic of Armenia to become European Champions.

Amateur career
Simonyan won a silver medal at the 1998 European Amateur Boxing Championships in the featherweight division and a bronze medal at the 1998 Boxing World Cup in the featherweight division.

Professional career
Simonyan amassed a record of 13-0-1 (7 KO) from 2000 to 2003 and won the USBA Super Bantamweight title. He then won an IBF Super Bantamweight Title Eliminator and challenged Israel Vázquez for the IBF Super Bantamweight Championship. Simonyan lost via fifth round technical knockout. He later retired with a record of 15-3-2 (7 KO).

World Cup
Armen Nazaryan (Արմեն Նազարյան, born June 20, 1982 in Hrazdan, Armenian SSR) is an Armenian judoka. Nazaryan was awarded the Master of Sport of Armenia, International Class title in 2005.

Biography
Armen Nazaryan started judo in 1990 in the Sports School of Hrazdan. Nazaryan was first interested in boxing, but moved to judo in 1993. Since 1995, he has been trained by Karen Abagyan. In 2003, he became the Youth European Champion and won a bronze medal at the adult 2003 European Judo Championships. He won a bronze medal again at the 2004 European Judo Championships the following year and competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Nazaryan won a gold medal at the 2005 European Judo Championships in Rotterdam in the weight category of 60 kg. He won all five fights and defeated the current European Champion Ludwig Paischer of Austria in the final. With this success, Nazaryan went down in history as the first European Champion in the history of Armenian judo.

Nazaryan also won a gold medal at the 2005 World Cup in Tallinn. The next year, he won a silver medal at the 2006 European Judo Championships. In 2007, Nazaryan moved up to a heavier weight class of 66 kg and won a bronze medal at the 2007 Summer Universiade in Bangkok. Nazaryan won a gold medal at the 2008 Super World Cup in Moscow and participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Nazaryan competed in the Olympics for a third time at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He announced before the Olympics began that it would be his last time competing.

Early life
Hovhannes Davtyan was born on November 25, 1985 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumri, Armenia). He began practicing judo at the age of 12 years under his current coach Karen Simonyan.

Career
Davtyan made his debut on the international stage in January 2005 at the World Cup in Tbilisi, where he took fifth place and was left without a medal. In March of that year, at another stage of the World Cup in Tallinn, Davtyan had, for the first time in his career, became a medal winner of the international competition, winning a silver medal. In October and November 2005, in preparation for the European Championship, Davtyan won second place at an international tournament in Sweden and won antologichnogo tournament in Finland. Held in Kyiv at the European Youth Championship, Davtyan took 5th place.

2006
2006 was, as a whole, not successful for the Armenian athlete. In March, at the World Cup in Prague, he lost in one of the circles of the decisive battle. Davtyan still got the opportunity to fight for the bronze medal. However, he lost and took fifth place.

2007
In 2007, Davtyan performed quite successfully. In January, at the World Cup in Tbilisi, the Armenian sportsman took third place. At the beginning of next month, at the Super World Cup in Paris, he took fifth place. A few weeks later, at the end of February, at another stage of the Super World Cup in Paris, Davtyan won the tournament and won his first gold medal in the international arena. In April 2007, at the European Championships in Belgrade, Davtyan ranked second. A month later, at the next stage of the World Cup, held in Moscow, Davtyan won the gold medal and took first place. At the end of that year, Davtyan took second place at an international tournament in Yerevan and the International Cup in Tehran.

2008
At the beginning of 2008, at the World Cup in Tbilisi, Davtyan ranked fifth. In early February, at the Super World Cup in Paris, he came in seventh. At the Super World Cup, held in late February in Hamburg, he was third. In Lisbon, the European Championships, Davtyan finished seventh in the final. In the same year, as part of the Armenian national team, Davtyan went to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. After winning in the first round against Cuban Yosmani Piker, he lost in the second round to the representative of North Korea Kim Kyong-Jin.

2009
On February 28, at the World Cup in Warsaw, Davtyan took second place. In May, he won the Grand Slam tournament, held in Moscow. In August at the 2009 World Judo Championships in Rotterdam, Davtyan was third. Then, in November, he won the championship of Armenia. At the end of the year, Davtyan went to the stage of the Grand Slam in Tokyo, where he finished fifth.

2010
In March 2010, Hovhannes Davtyan won the Cup of Armenia. At the 2010 European Judo Championships, held in Vienna, he ranked fifth. In November of the same year, at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, Davtyan was third.

2011
In late January, at the World Cup in Tbilisi, Hovhannes Davtyan came in third. In early February, at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, he won second place. Then, a week later, at the World Cup in Budapest, he again came in second. A week later, on February 19, at the Grand Prix in Düsseldorf, Davtyan was in fifth. After seven days, the World Cup in Warsaw took place in late February, Davtyan came in second place. In May, at the Grand Slam tournament in Moscow, Davtyan was fifth, and in August at the 2011 World Judo Championships in Paris, Davtyan came in seventh place. In that year, he gained the necessary ranking points to secure a ticket to the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

2012
On February 4, 2012, at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, Davtyan was seventh. After that, at the 2012 European Judo Championships in Chelyabinsk, Davtyan won a silver medal. In June, at the World Cup held in Prague on World Cup, Davtyan came in second. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Davtyan consistently knocked out the tournament German Tobias Englmaier, Azeri Ilgar Mushkiyev and Kazakh Yerkebulan Kossayev. In the fight for the semi-finals, Davtyan narrowly lost to Italian Elio Verde. After this, Davtyan had the opportunity to compete for the Olympic bronze medal, but controversially lost to Frenchman Sofiane Milous and took seventh place. According to Karen Simonyan, Davtyan's coach, there were interference factors during his matches. He revealed Davtyan performed throws which should have been scored as a ‘yuko’ (a throw that places the opponent onto his side), but this did not happen. And, in contrary to this, Davtyan was groundlessly given a second warning, which gave a point to the opponent and Davtyan lost.

Biography
Arman Yeremyan was born on January 29, 1986 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. He took up taekwondo under Gevorg Danielian. He participated in and became the winner of junior international competitions. He won silver and bronze medals at the European Youth Championships in 2001 and 2003. Yeremyan won three bronze medals at the Universiade in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Yeremyan's most significant success was his gold medal victory at the 2008 European Taekwondo Championships in Rome in the men's welterweight (78 kg) division. He made history as the first Armenian taekwondoist to become a European Champion.

Yeremyan was the flag bearer for Armenia at the 2012 Summer Olympics and is the fifth ever Olympian to bear the flag of Armenia at the Summer Olympics. Albert Azaryan was originally intended to bear the flag of Armenia at the 2012 Olympics, but the decision was substantiated due to his age and the honor was passed onto Yeremyan instead.

Yeremyan won a gold medal at the 2012 European Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament in Kazan and earned a license to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. At the tournament, he defeated eventual 2012 Olympic silver medalist Nicolás García and Tommy Mollet. Yeremyan also became the first taekwondo practitioner from Armenia to compete at the Olympics.

In the first round, Yeremyan beat Canadian Sébastien Michaud, avenging an earlier loss to Michaud. Yeremyan defeated Dutchman Tommy Mollet once again in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Yeremyan narrowly lost by one point to Sebastián Crismanich of Argentina. Yeremyan previously defeated Crismanich in an earlier match. Crismanich went on to become the Olympic Champion. Yeremyan next lost the bronze medal match because of controversial scoring to Lutalo Muhammad of the host nation Great Britain in a fight where many of Yeremyan kicks weren't counted and many of Muhammad's shouldn't have been. Yeremyan, who scored a head kick in the final seconds that went uncounted, stood confused after the match was over. He came in fifth place.

Biography
Norayr Bakhtamyan was born on November 1, 1970 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. From childhood, he loved to play with guns. He first got involved in shooting in 1985. Bakhtamyan began shooting under Khoren Igityan. Bakhtamyan credits Igityan for teaching him patience, calmness and a lot more. Now his personal coach is the head coach and honored coach of Armenia, Seyran Nikoghosyan. Bakhtamyan is married. He dedicates his success to his family, because they are his inspiration.

Bakhtamyan won the Shooting Championships of Armenia many times. In 2004, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Bakhtamyan came in 4th place in the 50 metre free pistol. This is his best Olympic proformence to date. He also came in seventh place in the 10 metre air pistol. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Bakhtamyan did not advance to the finals. In 2011, at the World Cup in Sydney, he was second and received the opportunity to go to the Olympic Games in London. In 2012, he was fourth in the World Cup in the double. In February 2012, at the winter the European Championships in the Finnish city Verumayki, he scored 679.6 points and took 6th place. Bakhtamyan did not make it to the finals in either of his events at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Early life
Arthur Davtyan was born on August 8, 1992 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. In 1998, at the age of 7, he began to do gymnastics. Since 2008, he is a member of the Armenian national gymnastics team.

Youth
In 2009, at the Youth Olympic Festival in Tampere, Finland, Davtyan, along with Vahan Vardanyan and Arthur Tovmasyan in the Armenian team, took 6th place in the team event among 23 teams. In the individual competition, Davtyan took the same place in 6th place in the all-around, 7th place in the vault, 6th place on the uneven bars and 9th place in the exercises on the rings. A year later, at the Junior European Championships in Birmingham, with a score of 15,462, Davtyan became champion in the vault. In addition, he came in 4th place in the exercises on the rings with a result of 13,975, ninth place on the uneven bars and seventh in the exercises on the pommel horse.

Adult
Arthur Davtyan debuted on adult competition in 2011, at the individual 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships that were held in Berlin, where he participated in all disciplines. Championship for the Armenian sportsman emerged successful. Being the youngest member of the all-around, Davtyan took 20th place. In other disciplines, Davtyan could not overcome the qualifying threshold. Of all the exercises, his best result was 14th place in the vault. In January 2012, Arthur Davtyan took part in an international qualifying tournament, held in London. In the vault, showing the best result of the disciplines in which he participated, Davtyan gaining 15.450 points and won second place. In the all-around, with 84.2 points, he finished 12th. According to the results of the tournament, the Armenian athlete received a ticket to the Olympic Games in 2012. In March 2012, the third phase of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, Arthur Davtyan, with the result of 15,725, was second in the vault, with a score of 14,575, and the fourth in the exercises on the pommel horse. Davtyan was awarded the Aspire Academy Award for best young gymnasts of the Doha World Cup. He shared the award with Diana Bulimar. In the same year, the Armenian athletes once again took part in the 2012 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships, held in Montpellier, where in the all-around (exercise on six guns), he finished fifth. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he was unsuccessful. Davtyan injured his leg could not overcome the qualifying.

Early life
Mkhitaryan was born on 22 January 1989 in Kentron district of Armenian capital Yerevan to Marina Taschian and Hamlet Mkhitaryan, a prominent striker of FC Ararat Yerevan during the 1980s, who died of a brain tumour at just 33 years old. His mother is the head of the national teams department in the Armenian Football Federation and his elder sister, Monica, works at UEFA's headquarters.

At the beginning of the 1990's, the Mkhitaryan family moved to France, where Hamlet Mkhitaryan played for the now defunct ASOA Valence helped them to be to be promoted to the second division Ligue 2. Henrikh spent his early childhood in Valence. He always wanted to become a football player and began to follow in his father's footsteps. As a child, he'd watch his father play and always wanted to follow him to training. Tragically, his father died of a brain tumor when Henrikh was only 7 years old, and never witnessed his son developing into an outstanding footballer. The Mkhitaryans returned to Yerevan in 1995. Henrikh Mkhitaryan graduated from the Institute of Physical Culture in Armenia. He currently studies economics at the Yerevan branch of the St. Petersburg Institute. Upon graduation, he plans to study there as a lawyer. Growing up, Mkhitaryan had considered Zinedine Zidane his football idol.

Pyunik Yerevan
Mkhitaryan joined the Pyunik FC youth system in 1995 and received his first salary at the age of 15. He was later promoted to the first team of Pyunik FC, making his professional debut in 2006 at the age of 17. He last played for the club in the 2009 season. During that season he scored 11 league goals in 10 league games. In his four seasons in the Pyunik first team they won the Armenian Premier League on four occasions (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009). They also won the Armenian Supercup twice (2007 and 2009) and the Armenian Cup once (2009). In total he managed 70 league appearances for the club with 30 goals and 89 total appearances with 35 goals. Armenian national team and Pyunik head coach Vardan Minasyan admitted that he would love to see his star player "playing in a stronger league." Minasyan stated young Henrikh was well on his way to becoming a legend in his own right. He said of Mkhitaryan, "He can win games on his own. He seizes control at the crucial moment and scores for fun."

Due to his success in the Armenian Premier League 2009 at Pyunik Yerevan, he joined Ukrainian Premier League club Metalurh Donetsk.

2009–10 season
Mkhitaryan joined Metalurh Donetsk. He scored a goal on his debut in a 3–0 victory against Belarusian Premier League side FC Partizan Minsk, in the Europa League on 16 July 2009. On 19 July he made his league debut in a 0–0 draw with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. His first league goal came in a 2–2 draw with Karpaty Lviv on 26 July. On 6 August he scored the first goal in a 3–0 second leg Europa League win against Slovenian Interblock Ljubljana, winning 5–0 on aggregate. On 26 September he scored the only goal in a 1–0 league victory against Kryvbas. On 17 October he scored a 90th minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Vorskla Poltava. On 19 March he scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv. He finished the season with 14 goals in 38 appearances, including 29 league matches and 9 goals.

2010–11 season
The following season he was named captain of the club on 14 July, at the age 21, making him the youngest captain in Metalurh Donetsk history. He scored his first goal, an 89th minute penalty, in a 3–0 victory over Obolon Kyiv on 16 July. He played his final match for the club in a 2–1 win against Dnipro on 30 August. In his second season he played 8 matches and scored 3 goals, all of which were in the league. He made 37 league appearances during his time at Metalurh, scoring 12 goals. In total he played 46 matches for the club, scoring 17 times. On 30 August he sealed a $7.5 million switch to reigning Premier League champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

2010–11 season
During the season 2010–11 Mkhitaryan was bought for $7.5 million by the champions Shakhtar Donetsk. His debut came on 10 September in a 1–0 away league defeat to Obolon Kyiv, being replaced after 62 minutes by Eduardo. His home debut was more successful, with Shakhtar coming back from a goal behind to win 4–1 against Tavriya Simferopol on 19 September. He scored his first goal for the club in this match. Three days later he made his first appearance in the Ukrainian Cup, netting the second goal in a 6–0 win over Kryvbas. On 25 September he scored a late injury time winner in a 2–1 away victory over Metalist Kharkiv. He made his European debut for the club in the Champions League on 28 September against Sporting Braga winning 3–0. He made an appearance in the 2–0 Ukrainian Cup Final victory against Dynamo Kyiv, coming on in the 81st minute in place of Jádson. His first season with the club was extremely successful for Shakhtar as they won the treble (Premier League, Ukrainian Cup and the Super Cup).

2011–12 season
In the 2011–12 season Shakhtar won the Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup. Mkhitaryan scored the third goal in a 4–0 win against Obolon Kyiv in his first league match of the season. On 4 March he scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He scored the only goal in a cup victory over Metalurh Zaporizhya on 11 April. On 6 May he played a part in Shakhtar's 2–1 extra time victory over his former team Metalurh Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup Final, coming off after 62 minutes for Douglas Costa. In an online poll on Shakhtar Donetsk official website, Mkhitaryan was voted as the best player of Shakhtar in 2011–2012 Premier League season with about 38% of total votes. He scored 11 goals in 36 matches, including 10 goals in 28 matches. Shakhtar retained the Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup in the 2011–12 season.

2012–13 season
Mkhitaryan played in 2–0 2012 Super Cup victory over Metalurh Donetsk. In his first match of the 2012–2013 Premier League season, he netted twice and provided two assists in a 6–0 season opening victory against Arsenal Kyiv. He managed a hat trick against Chornomorets Odesa in a 5–1 win to reach 10 goals for the season after just six games, equalling his tally for the previous season. On 19 September, in Shakhtar's first Champions League match of the season, Mkhitaryan scored twice in a 2–0 victory over Danish champions Nordsjælland. This was the first time he had scored a goal in the Champions League and he was named Man of the Match. He was also named in the Team of the Week for matchday 1 of the Champions League after his brace against Nordsjælland. Mkhitaryan had become the top goalscorers of the season with a total of 18 goals.

2013–14 season
On 16 March 2013, Mkhitaryan played his 100th game in the Ukrainian Premier League in a match against Chornomorets Odesa. He also scored his first goal of the 2013-14 season.

International career
Mkhitaryan is one of the most important members of the Armenia national team. He debuted in an away friendly match against Panama on 14 January 2007.

He scored six goals for Armenia in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B, thus becoming top goalscorer in that group. ---He scored an upsetting goal against the republic of Ireland in which he ended Irelands 8 game clean sheet record. Although Armenia did not advance past the qualifying stage for UEFA Euro 2012, Henrikh Mkhitaryan's performances landed him in the UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying dream team with 6 goals.

As of 14 November 2012, Mkhitaryan is the second top goalscorer of all time with 10 goals, after Arthur Petrosyan who has 11 goals in 70 matches.

Style of play
Mkhitaryan is capable of playing positions of both central striker and striker style midfielder. He thrives playing just behind the strikers, where he always looks to link up with his teammates in and around the box. Tearing apart opposition defences time and time again, he makes space for the striker/wingers to exploit and create goal scoring opportunities. Mkhitaryan has been praised for his technique, movement, accurate passing, dribbling, creativity, ball control and work rate. He’s equipped with a dangerous shot, trickery to beat defenders, and a superb vision to go for the pass.

During the 2012–13 season, Chelsea legend Pat Nevin said of Mkhitaryan, "Eleven goals in eight league matches already is fantastic, but when you add that he is a midfielder, it is phenomenal. You may not have heard of him yet, even if all the scouts at the top European clubs have, but you soon will. He has pace, skill, a rocket of a shot and the ability to arrive in the box like Frank Lampard. This all singles him out as a player who must be watched or more importantly marked.”

Personal life
The death of his father impacted Mkhitaryan greatly. He feels if his father were alive, "everything would be different." Notwithstanding, he would give him a number of useful advices from a professional point of view. Those people, who enjoyed his father’s play in the Hrazdan Stadium, say that their styles resemble each other very much. Mkhitaryan has said, "I believe he sees me and is proud of me…”

Mkhitaryan is fluent in five languages: Armenian, Russian, English, French and Portuguese. Donbass Arena has a tradition of playing music each time home players score goals. Each track corresponds to the nationality of a scorer. Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian plays whenever Mkhitaryan scores. This song became very popular in Donetsk due to Mkhitaryan scoring frequently.

At the decision of the Yerevan Council of Elders, and in connection with the city’s 2794th anniversary, Mkhitaryan was awarded with the “Honorary Citizen of Yerevan” title, for his great success in football and his brilliant achievements in sports.

Mkhitaryan has visited the Artsakh Republic three times on charity visits. On December 21, 2012, Mkhitaryan visited Stepanakert and gave gifts to the families of fallen soldiers. He later met with Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan and Deputy Defence Minister of Artsakh, president of the Football Federation of Artsakh, head of Union Veterans of the Karabakh War and Hero of Artsakh Samvel Karapetyan. They both praised the contributions of Mkhitaryan and awarded him the Order of Defender of the Fatherland.

Had he not been a football player, Mkhitaryan said he would be a sprinter.

Club


1Including 1 match in Ukrainian Super Cup 2Including 1 match in Ukrainian Super Cup 3Including 2 matches in Ukrainian Super Cup 4Including 2 matches in Ukrainian Super Cup

Club
🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (4): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
 * Armenian Supercup (2): 2007, 2009
 * Armenian Cup (1): 2009

🇺🇦 Shakhtar Donetsk
 * Ukrainian Premier League (2): 2010–11, 2011–12
 * Ukrainian Cup (2): 2010–11, 2011–12
 * Ukrainian Super Cup (1): 2012

Individual

 * Armenian Footballer of the Year: 2009, 2011, 2012
 * Ukrainian Premier League Footballer of the Year: 2012
 * Footballer of the Year in Baltic and Commonwealth of Independent States: 2012
 * Europe's Most Popular Footballer Amongst Currently Active Players in 2012 (IFFHS): 2012

Early life
David Manoyan was born on on 5 July 1990 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR. Manoyan spent some time swimming before he started playing football. He has a little brother, Vahagn Manoyan, who also plays football.

Club career
Manoyan was part of the FC Pyunik youth system. In 2007 he signed a contract with the club and spent a full season in the First League. He later joined the Pyunik first team in 2008. During his time on Pyunik, Manoyan scored three goals and was part of the team when they won the 2008 Armenian Premier League and 2009 Armenian Premier League, as well as the 2009 Armenian Supercup and 2009 Armenian Cup. After the championship, the number of professionals recognized the opening of the season. At the headquarters of the Football Federation of Armenia, a ceremony of awarding the winners at the end of the football season 2009 was hosted. Manoyan was awarded the "Discovery of the Year" and "The most promising footballer" awards. Manoyan built through most of the attacks that result in the most goals. In November 2009, an injury of the knee, which was operated by Germany, at a clinic in Hamburg. In March 2010, talks were held for Manoyan to be transferred to German club VfB Stuttgart. Manoyan later showed interest in Swiss club FC Sion. Manoyan decided to remain with Pyunik for another season, in which Pyunik again won the 2010 Armenian Premier League, as well as the 2010 Armenian Supercup and 2010 Armenian Cup.

In the summer of 2012, along with Pyunik teammate Artak Yedigaryan, he held view in interest of FC Metalurh Donetsk. Yedigaryan's game attracted the coaching staff of Metalurh and Manoyan later decided to play for FC Kuban Krasnodar. On August 9, 2012, Manoyan signed a 3-year contract with Kuban. Manoyan was put on loan to Pyunik on September 3, 2012 for a period of 6 months that same year and later became the captain of Pyunik. He underwent knee surgery in Germany on December 10, 2012 due to an injury and has been sitting out for awhile.

International career
Manoyan made his debut for the Armenia national football team on February 11, 2009 in a friendly game against Latvia. Manoyan stepped on the field at the 80th minute of the match, replacing Edgar Manucharyan. The match took place in Cyprus and ended with the score 0:0.

Club
🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (2): 2008, 2009, 2010
 * Armenian Supercup (1): 2009, 2010
 * Armenian Cup (1): 2009, 2010

Individual

 * 2009 Discovery of the Year
 * 2009 The most promising footballer

Early life
Yura Movsisyan was born 2 August 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijani SSR to an Armenian family of parents Sergey Movsisyan and Aida Sahakyan and brothers Movses and Hovhannes. Yura has no memories of his home. All he recalls is his family left in "late 2001 or early 2002" because of what Yura remembers as "Killing ... everything." His family moved to the United States, Los Angeles, an area with a large Armenian community. Movsisyan attended and played soccer at Pasadena High School, and played a year of college soccer at Pasadena City College before being discovered by MLS scouts prior to the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. His idol is Thierry Henry.

Kansas City Wizards
Movsisyan was signed to a Generation Adidas contract and became the surprise of draft day, with the Kansas City Wizards selecting him with the fourth overall pick, the highest in MLS history for a player who did not go to a Division I college program or was not a U.S. youth international. After one game being unused, Movsisyan finally made his debut, coming on as a substitute, in a 2-1 loss against D.C. United on 13 May 2006. In his first season, he failed to produce to score his first goal for the club and had become a regular player in the first team. The following season, Movsisyan scored his first goal of his professional career in a 3-0 win over Toronto on 25 April 2007. Soon after, this was followed up when he scored a brace against New York Red Bulls next month on 16 May 2007. He would score twice more goals, rising up to five, against Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.

Real Salt Lake
On the 2007 trading deadline, Movsisyan was traded to Real Salt Lake. Movsisyan made his debut on 17 September 2007 in a 2-2 draw against Los Angeles Galaxy and setting up a goal for Carey Talley. At the last game of the season, Movsisyan received a red card, for the first time of his career, in a 1-0 loss against Houston Dynamo. The next season, Movsisyan would score his first goal in a 4-3 loss against Houston Dynamo on 16 August 2008. On 6 September 2008, Movsisyan scored and set up a goal for Will Johnson in a 2-2 draw against Los Angeles Galaxy, followed by scoring a brace in a 3-2 win over San Jose Earthquakes at the same months. Movsisyan was the player to score Real Salt Lake's first ever MLS Cup Playoffs goal when he scored the winner (and only goal) on 1 November 2008 at Rio Tinto Stadium, when the Utah side beat Chivas USA. At Real Salt Lake, Movsisyan had been on the goalscoring form. Movsisyan signed a pre-contract with Danish club Randers FC on 6 July 2009, with an agreement to join the club following the conclusion of the 2009 MLS season. Having helped Real Salt Lake win their first ever MLS Cup championship that season after beating Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 on penalties although he was substituted in the second half, Movsisyan left the club and joined Randers on 1 January 2010.

Randers FC
Movsisyan made his debut for Randers FC on the opening game of the season in 0-0 draw against Esbjerg fB on 7 March 2010 and scored a brace twice in a 3-1 win over Silkeborg IF on 14 April 2010 and a 2-0 win over Midtjylland in the same month. At the end of the season, Movsisyan made 13 appearance and scoring 7 in an impressive form despite playing in the second half of the season. During that season, Movsisyan scored twice and provided an assist for Søren Pedersen in a 6-1 win over Dudelange in the first round of Europa League and would win 7-3 on aggregate to advanced to the next round. Another match win in the Europa League, Movsisyan scored a brace in a 3-2 loss against Lausanne-Sport, but the club was eliminated after a 1-1 draw, which Movsisyan scored in the match. The club would In Randers FC, Movsisyan replaced the past season topscorer Marc Nygaard's position, from the first match of the spring season. In Denmark he established himself as a powerhouse, playing a major role in the saving of Randers FC from relegation from the Danish Superliga. His good performance led the Russian side Rubin Kazan and Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv.

Krasnodar
He was sold for €2.5 million to FC Krasnodar in Winter 2011. Movsisyan made his debut in an opening game of the season on 12 March 2011 in a 0-0 draw against Anzhi Makhachkala and scored his first goal in a 2-0 win over with the help of YoungSleepySpartak Nalchik in the next game. After fighting injury early in the season, Movsisyan has become a major producer on the team and has netted 14 goals, including a brace against Volga (that win would keep the club safe from relegation) and a goal, own goal and an assist in a 2-2 draw against Amkar Perm. At the end of the season, Movsisyan was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Year for 2011 by the club. Even after the 2011/12 season, Movsisyan was named the top 10 best new foreign player and was the topscorer in the Relegation group. In the opening game of the season, Movsisyan scored a brace in a 2-1 win over Rubin Kazan and scored another and provide an assist for Joãozinho in a 3-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow. He would score twice brace in a 2-2 draw against Amkar Perm and another goal and an assist for Dušan Anđelković in a 6-1 win over against Mordovia Saransk. His goalscoring form made him linked with various club. But this didn't stop Krasnodar as the club offered him a new three year contract However, the club couldn't match his salary after Movsisyan wanted a higher salary, according to Manager Slavoljub Muslin. Movsisyan stated Krasnodar will always be dear to him and expressed gratitude to Krasnodar FC president Sergey Galitsky for ensuring perfect conditions for professional growth.

Spartak Moscow
Movsisyan completed a move to Spartak Moscow on 8 December 2012 for a reported €7.5 million and signed a contract for 4.5 years with a salary of € 1.5 million a year. He is the 7th most expensive transfer in Spartak history. On 10 March 2013, Movsisyan made his debut for the new club in a home game against Terek Grozny. Movsisyan had an immediate impact by scoring a hat-trick, leading to Spartak victory 3-1. This was the first hat-trick Movsisyan scored in his career and he became the first Spartak player to score a hat-trick in their debut.

International career
Movsisyan originally stated that his goal was to gain American citizenship and join the United States national team. However, on 9 August 2010, he joined the Armenia national team and made his debut in a friendly against Iran on 11 August 2010. He was one of the most prolific strikers in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, netting in 4 goals and assisting in 5 others.

Personal life
Movsisyan is married to his wife Marianna. They have two children, a daughter, Aida (b. 2012), and a son, Arman (b. 2010).

Spartak legends Nikita Simonyan and Alexander Mirzoyan have personally sent well wishes to Movsisyan in connection with his becoming a Spartak player. Mirzoyan personally wished Movsisyan success and gave Movsisyan an autographed photo of him. Simonyan wrote to Movsisyan, “Dear Yura, I hope that you win more titles at Spartak than I. I wish you success!” Movsisyan replied: “It will be difficult to exceed Simonyan’s achievements—[both] as a player and a coach. Thanks very much for such valuable gift. I know of Simonyan and Mirzoyan as the greatest players, and I am proud to be an Armenian just like them. I have not seen them play, but I know that they have done a lot for Spartak. I am not even close to them [in terms of accomplishments]. [But] I certainly do have plans. I want to score goals and achieve wins. [And] when something goes successfully, I will enter into history at that time.”

Club
🇺🇸 Real Salt Lake
 * Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2009

🇷🇺 Krasnodar
 * '''2011-12 FC Krasnodar Player of the Season

Ararat Yerevan
He started his career at the Brazilian club São Carlos as a youth from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, the young talent spotted by an agent from Ararat Yerevan, which soon recruited Pizzelli. His debut took place on April 30 in a game against Ulisses. Pizzelli entered the field in the 58th minute of the match, replacing Tigran Yesayan. His first goal for Ararat happened on June 16 in another game against Ulisses. For the first season Pizzelli focused on adaptation, and the next was on scoring goals. With its high performance, Pizzelli was the leading scorer in the Armenian Premier League twice with Ararat, scoring 22 goals during the 2007 Armenian Premier League and scoring 17 goals during that 2008 Armenian Premier League. As a result of the financial problems that have befallen Ararat, the club has decided to loan Pizzelli to the amateur club of the 5th Division - Ararat (Issy-les-Moulineaux).

Pyunik Yerevan
Six months later, in the summer of 2009, Pizzelli's contract with Ararat ended, and, as a free agent, he accepted the invitation of FC Yerevan Pyunik. In July, a long-term contract was made. With Pizzelli playing for Pyunik, the club won the 2009 Armenian Premier League and 2010 Armenian Premier League, won the 2009 Armenian Cup and 2010 Armenian Cup and won the 2010 Armenian Supercup. In the 10th round of the 2010 Armenian Premier League, Marcos had his 100th match in the Premier League in the history of his performance. That season, Pizzelli became the top goalscorer for a third time along with Armenian Gevorg Ghazaryan, with both scoring 16 goals. In the middle of the 2011 Armenian Premier League, Pizzelli had scored 6 goals, but was then transferred to Metalurh Donetsk.

Metalurh Donetsk
In June 2011, he signed a contract with Metalurh Donetsk, along with Pyunik teammate Gevorg Ghazaryan. In his first official match for the Donetsk club, Pizzelli scored a goal, and this goal, scored against Chornomorets Odesa, was the only one in the match. In the higher level championship, Pizzelli became much more difficult to play. Scoring as it was possible in the Armenian Premier League had not worked. However, the reduction of statistics is not only related to this factor. In Metalurh, according to the plans of the coach, he had Pizzelli not to act as a central striker and instead play the position of attacking midfielder. In rare cases, crossing the center line on the flanks.

Kuban Krasnodar
In January 2012, Pizzelli joined Kuban Krasnodar. In 2011, in a match between Russia and Armenia, the head coach of Team Kuban Dan Petrescu spotted Pizzelli and was interested in the player. After a long observation of the game of Pizzelli, Petrescu has agreed to acquire the player. On January 13, they signed a contract for three years. On March 18, Pizzelli scored the first goal in the Russian Premier League and brought Kuban the win over Rubin Kazan. Pizzelli was voted player of the month for Kuban a second time in May 2012.

International career
In May 2008, he received Armenian citizenship and became a member of the Armenia national team. He made his first appearance on 28 May 2008 and scored on his debut in a friendly away game against Moldova. The match ended with the score 2-2. After playing 3 games that year, he was briefly no longer invited to the national team. After moving to Yerevan to play for Pyunik, he again came to the attention of coaches and August 12, 2009 Marcos again played for the Armenian national team regularly. On October 8, 2010 in a match against Slovakia, he made a scoring pass to Yura Movsisyan, and a few days later, he scored Armenia's 4th goal in a game against Andorra. That victory then went on to secure Armenia's by that time highest ever FIFA World Ranking as 42nd. For his second goal for the national squad, Pizzelli scored in an away match with Russia (1:3). His third goal for the team scored in am away match against Andorra in which Armenia won 3-0. His fourth goal for the national team scored in the match against Macedonia, in which Armenia won 4-1. In a friendly game, which was held February 29, 2012 against Team Canada, marked the first time in his double gate rivals. On 11 September 2012, Pizzelli was controversially sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria.

Personal life
Marcos is married to his wife Natalia. They met in Brazil and she moved with him to Armenia. Marcos and Natalia do not have children yet, but have a dog named Liza. Pizzelli can speak Portuguese, Armenian, English and is currently learning Russian. He identifies himself as Brazilian-Armenian. Pizzelli says he feels more Armenian than Brazilian. Marcos says he would never forget about Armenia, which gave him an opportunity to develop his skills. “I am grateful to this country for everything. I would play for Armenia as long as the squad needs me.”

Marcos has a tattoo on his left forearm that says "" in Armenian.

Club
🇦🇲 Ararat Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League Runner-up (1): 2008
 * Armenian Cup (1): 2008

🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (2): 2009, 2010
 * Armenian Cup (2): 2009, 2010

🇺🇦 Metalurh Donetsk
 * Player of the Month (1): July 2011

Individual

 * Armenian Premier League Top Goalscorer: 2007 (22), 2008 (17), 2010 (16)

International goals
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Club career
Sargis Hovsepyan played his first match at the professional level when he was seventeen. It was in the Soviet Top League with second league club Malatia Yerevan. The following year, the Soviet Union collapsed. Sargis had then started competing in the Armenian Premier League of his now independent homeland. Hovsepyan first joined Lori Vanadzor in 1991 and was transferred to Pyunik Yerevan the following year. He immediately became the first star of the country. In 1992, he became the first player to be named Armenian Footballer of the Year. In the same year he made his debut for the national team. Hovsepyan was named Armenian Footballer of the Year again for 1995, becoming the first player to receive the award twice. Hovsepyan was switched clubs in 1997 to 1998 and spent the next part of his club career in Russia. Anatoliy Byshovets had acquired Hovsepyan and took him into Zenit St. Petersburg. Zenit coach Anatoli Davydov later believed Hovsepyan to be suited for right-back. In this position, Sargis was so good that by the end of the season in 1999, the leaders of the club called him the best player on the team. The first season Hovsepyan joined them, Zenit won the Russian Cup 1998–99, the Russian Cup in history. The categorically refused to sell any kind. Hovsepyan began to receive the interest of CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow. However, Yuri Morozov, the next coach of St. Petersburg, had decided not to use Hovsepyan for any useful positions. And thus he unwittingly provoked the subsequent parting player with the club. No player in the new center of defense look convincing. Suffice it to say that in the list of 33 best for the season of 2002, Hovsepyan was in second place - just after Sergei Ignashevich. But in just a couple of months, it turned out that without Hovsepyan in Zenit, the defense was superfluous. In the football club, tactical revolution broke out. The team became the defensive line, and the specialty of the last defender suddenly lost its relevance.

Vlastimil Petržela, who brought St. Petersburg advanced developments, claimed the Armenian defender couldn't do their plays. Sargis was unable to fit into the new tactical realities. "Hovsepyan did blunders, played frankly bad. But the 'zone' is not understood - man all his life playing personal, and in thirty years to relearn hard" said Vyacheslav Malafeev. This does not provide an understanding of why the coach did not use the defense in a different role, on the flank. Petrzhela then explained that Hovsepyan lacked speed. Adoption of a strange, given that it is this quality that has always been one of the main advantages of the player. Apparently, the defender simply agreed whatever the coach felt, and in the summer of 2003, Hovsepyan left Zenit and was forced on the transfer list. A couple of years later, Petrzhela, watching from St. Petersburg, had another defender, Daniel Kiritse, who wished him not to get lost in football, as Hovsepyan. From the present day, farewell funny. Because the "lost" Sargis ten years has been claimed in the big football, and the pan coach after the Zenit has had it once quickly. Play the game in 2003 at the club Torpedo-Metallurg, Hovsepyan returned to Pyunik and left from Russia. He won a lot of national trophies in 2008 and won the Armenian Footballer of the Year award for a third time in 2008. He is the first player to win the award three times, a feat that has only been matched by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

In the match of the 1st round of the 2010 Armenian Premier League, Sargis Hovsepyan had his 500th match in meetings, becoming the second player of Armenia who overcame the barrier of 500 matches. This match could mark Hovsepyan scoring a goal, but could not do to a penalty. On May 10, 2010, winning in Pyunik the final match of the Armenian Cup against Banants, he became the oldest player in the history of the Armenian football to win the Cup. On that day, Hovsepyan was 37 years and 189 days. This figure surpassed the previous one, which was owned by Karen Simonyan, who won the Cup in 36 years and 336 days (2007). Hovsepyan also owns another cup record. In total he had in this tournament 62 games. Hovsepyan has been on the winning team of the Armenian Premier League for nine seasons, the most of any player in the history of the League. Sargis Hovsepyan retired as a football player in 2012. On this occasion, the former captain of Pyunik and the national team made a special appeal to the entire football community, in which he stated that, in his opinion, it is time to hang up his boots.

International career
The first match for Hovsepyan and the Armenia national football team was held on October 14, 1992 in a home game qualifier against Moldova, which ended 0-0. In December, the UEFA Executive Committee, while in Prague, took a decision that players who have played a part of their national team for 100 matches will receive their awards from UEFA. These awards will also be awarded retroactively. Thus Hovsepyan, who played more than 100 matches in the national team of Armenia, in absentia, won this award. Playing for the Armenian team from 1992 to 2012, Hovsepyan had 131 matches and scored 2 goals and became the champion on to play a match for the national team. In the near forty years of his life, he spent twenty playing for the national team.

Hovsepyan played his final game on November 14, 2012 in a friendly match against Lithuania, which Armenia won 4–2, and then retired from association football afterward. That same night, Hovsepyan received a standing ovation from the Yerevan Republican Stadium audience. Hovsepyan was awarded a gold Medal of City Hall by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and awarded a car by Armenian Football Federation head Ruben Hayrapetyan for his contributions to Armenian football. He was the last member of the original Armenian national team to retire.

Coaching career
A couple months after retiring as a football player, Hovsepyan joined the coaching staff of FC Pyunik and became the assistant coach to the club’s head coach and national team manager Vardan Minasyan.

Personal life
Hovsepyan is a father to his son. His son is training in Pyunik and plays in the junior club. It's Hovsepyan's dream for his son to play on the same football field as him.

Honours
🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (9): 1992, 1995–96, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
 * Armenian Supercup (4): 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009
 * Armenian Cup (3): 1996, 2004, 2009, 2010

🇷🇺 Zenit St. Petersburg
 * Russian Premier League Runner-up (1): 2003
 * Russian Premier League 3rd place (1): 2001
 * Russian Cup (1): 1998–99
 * Russian Cup Runner-up (1): 2001–02
 * Russian Premier League Cup (1): 2003

Pyunik
Arzumanyan grew up playing for the youth team of Pyunik Yerevan. Every year Robert improved. Having gained confidence in his game, Robert became an indispensable player. In 2005, a translation in the first team was made and Arzumanyan competed for the senior side since he has turned 18. Playing with the senior club, he did not get lost, but instead played in great strength. The results of the experts did not take long. Results of the 2005 Armenian Premier League revealed that the best player to take part in the Armenian Premier League for the first time was Robert Arzumanyan. While Arzumanyan played for Pyunik, the club won the 2003 Armenian Premier League, 2004 Armenian Premier League, 2005 Armenian Premier League, 2006 Armenian Premier League and 2007 Armenian Premier League, won the 2004 Armenian Cup and won the 2003 Armenian Supercup, 2004 Armenian Supercup and 2006 Armenian Supercup.

Randers
Good performances in subsequent seasons drew the attention of foreign breeders. On 17 January 2008, Robert signed a contract for 1 year with the Danish club Randers FC. After the 2008-09 season, he was one of the key players on the team and had made himself a first team regular on the team following some good and stable performances. On 29 August 2008, Robert extended his contract with Randers for 4 years. In the 2009-10 season, he was less likely to appear on the field without going into the coach's idea of ​​a new head coach. After the season and after the successful games played in the national team at the UEFA Euro 2012 on arrival at the club, it became clear that the coaching staff moved Arzumanyan to take. The reason for this decision is likely that Arzumanyan and his agent were in favor of the likely passage in the winter transfer window in any other European club.

Jagiellonia Białystok
In January 2011, there was information about the interest of the player's services in Śląsk Wrocław where Arzumanyan held interest. He performed well during the training camps of the team, but Arzumanyan did not become a player of the club. The reason for not signing the contract are the commissions which demanded agent of Robert Arzumanyan, Manual Kildanovich. Śląsk eventually decided not to sign a contract with the player. As a result, he signed with Jagiellonia Białystok in January 2011 on a three and a half year contract. Soon, because of the change of head coach and injuries, Arzumanyan did not get to bid for the match. The same coach of Jagiellonia did not see him in the team and advised him to change the club.

SKA-Energiya
On July 23, Arzumanyan came to Saransk to see the local club FC Mordovia Saransk. On July 26, with the team, he went to Krasnodar, and back to Saransk. Some days later, the head coach of Mordovia explained the rejection of the services of Arzumanyan as that too little time was to see the full potential. And given that the season had already started and the players trained in a specific mode, which was different from the training at the training camp. However, Arzumanyan left a positive impression. Arzumanyan ended up joining FC SKA-Energiya Khabarovsk and had signed a one-year deal with the club in September 2012. But the club came under new managment in December 2012, resulting in roster changes. He left the Russian club on January 18, 2013.

FC Aktobe
The following month Arzumanyan signed a contract with Kazakh club FC Aktobe valid until December 2014. He will have his first match for the new club on March 9, 2013 in the first round of the Kazakhstan Premier League.

International career
Arzumanyan is also one of the key defenders of the Armenia national team and has participated in 57 international matches and scored 4 goals since his debut in an away friendly match against Kuwait on 18 March 2005. He scored his first international goal for Armenia in a Euro 2008 qualifying match against Kazakhstan. The match happened on June 2, 2007 and Arzumanyan scored the goal at the 31st minute on David Loria.

Club
🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (5): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
 * Armenian Supercup (3): 2003, 2004, 2006
 * Armenian Cup (1): 2004

Individual

 * Armenian Premier League Best newcomer: 2005
 * Armenian Premier League The best young quarterback: 2005

Pyunik
In the 2004 Armenian Premier League season, Ghazaryan played for the youth team FC Pyunik, performing in the First League. For the next season, he debuted in the senior first team. On July 6, 2005, Ghazaryan came to the Lernagorts Stadium against the same command, replacing in the half-time interval with Aghvan Mkrtchyan. His first goal for the club happened the following season. On May 24, 2006, in a game against Shirak FC, Ghazaryan entered the field at the 55th minute of the match and, after 5 minutes, scored his first goal. In the same match, he scored his second goal, having issued such a double (the match ended with the score 7:0). In 2007, Ghazaryan played in Pyunik for the first round of the Armenian Premier League, then went on loan to FC Banants for the interests of the Armenian youth team. In the first game, Ghazaryan scored a hat-trick. Having played in the second round for Banants, he then returned to Pyunik. Every year that progresses, they see the potential and improve their skills. In 2010, Ghazaryan has reached a new, higher support height of his experience. This season, he accounted two hat-tricks and scored twice in the 2010 Armenia Cup final. While Ghazaryan played for Pyunik, the club won the 2006 Armenian Premier League, 2007 Armenian Premier League, 2008 Armenian Premier League, 2009 Armenian Premier League and 2010 Armenian Premier League, won the 2009 Armenian Cup and 2010 Armenian Cup and won the 2006 Armenian Supercup, 2007 Armenian Supercup and 2009 Armenian Supercup. On January 10, 2011, it was reported that Ghazaryan went to the preseason camp with FC Kuban Krasnodar.

Metalurh Donetsk
In June 2011, he signed a contract with Metalurh Donetsk, along with Pyunik teammate Marcos Pizzelli. On July 19, 2012 in the Europa League soccer match against FK Čelik Nikšić, Ghazaryan made ​​his first hat-trick for Metalurh and gave one assist, thus the Ukrainian club won 7-0.

International career
Ghazaryan debuted in the Armenia U-21 youth team in the qualifying match against San Marino held on May 17, 2006. On 63th minute of the match, the 18-year-old Ghazaryan replaced Armen Tigranyan. This junior match is remembered by many. Having originally won 2-1, it turned out that the Armenian team played an ineligible player. This was followed by regular technical defeat; 0-3. But in the second leg, the youth team won 4-0 and advanced to the next round. One of the goals in the 66th minute was scored by Ghazaryan, opening his account for the youth team goals. In 2007, he was called up to the senior Armenian national team. In the same year, on August 22, Ghazaryan debuted in a match against Portugal. This match was a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2008. The match was held in Yerevan Republican Stadium and ended a sensational draw - 1:1. Moreover, the Portuguese team had to recoup. Ghazaryan came off the bench for 58 minutes, replacing Hamlet Mkhitaryan. Ghazaryan scored five goals at the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying stage. He was only outscored in Group B by teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan and was among the top goalscorers in the qualifying stage.

On 11 September 2012, in a 2014 World Cup qualifier match between the national teams of Armenia and Bulgaria, Gevorg Ghazaryan was sent off for hitting the ball on a serving ballboy.

Personal life
Gevorg and his wife Victoria met in Sevan. Their son was born in December 2012.

Ghazaryan was also a classmate of the wife of Armenia national and Metalurh teammate Karlen Mkrtchyan.

Club
🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (5): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
 * Armenian Cup (2): 2009, 2010
 * Armenian Supercup (3): 2006, 2007, 2009

Individual

 * Armenian Premier League Best young player (1): 2007
 * Armenian Premier League Top Goalscorer (1): 2010
 * Player of the Month in Metalurh Donetsk (1): September 2011

Club career
Football started to deal with in 12 years in the football school FC Strogino. In one of the friendly matches with FC Reutov, Arthur scored a hat-trick, and then the guide of the Moscow Region club offered him to sign a contract with them. In his first season at the professional level, Arthur held 29 meetings and scored 3 goals. In 2008, because of financial problems, Reutov was disbanded and Sarkisov moved to Lokomotiv-2 Moscow. For two seasons, he became the best scorer of the team, and for the 2010 Russian Second Division season, Sarkisov was named the best forward west zone and became the division leading scorer, scoring 21 goals. His vivid game in Lokomotiv-2 has not gone unnoticed by the heads of the first team, and on December 9, 2010, Artur signed a contract with parent club Lokomotiv Moscow for six years. Sarkisov's dream of playing for the Russian Premier League had come true. Under the guidance of new head coach of Lokomotiv Yuri Krasnozhan, he spent only one camp in preparation of the 2011 season. In March, his contract was extended to three years and he was loaned for the 2011-12 season to Shinnik. The first match of Sarkisov for Shinnik was played on April 4 against FC Khimki. Sarkisov was coming in on 64 minutes, replacing Eldar Nizamutdinov. On April 25, he opened bombarding the score with Alania at the 48th minute of play with one ball of his team. As a result, the meeting ended in a draw 2-2. At the end of the season, Sarkisov was the second top scorer of Shinnik. On July 23, 2012, Sarkisov was transferred on loan to the Volga Nizhny Novgorod and will play under the number 14. Sarkisov scored his first two goals for the club in his tenth game for Volga on 15 March 2013. The final score was 2-1, thus Volga won because of Sarkisov's two goals.

International career
Sarkisov had wanted very much to play for the Armenia national football team. When he was invited, he agreed without thinking for a minute. He joined the national team on July 27, 2011 and made his debut in a friendly match against Lithuania on August 10, 2011, coming on the field and in the starting lineup in the 58th minute and substituting Yura Movsisyan. His first goal for the national team had already in his third game with Slovakia on September 6, which Armenia won away with a crushing 4-0 victory. On September 7, 2012, Sarkisov scored a goal for the national team in an away match against Malta.

Personal life
Artur's family name Sarkisov is the modified version of the Armenian surname Sargsyan. His ancestors had become Sarkisov many years ago and he didn’t wish to restore the Sargsyan surname out of respect for them.

He lived with his family for the first three years of his life in Grozny. The family then moved to the city Sosensky, Kozelsky District. Artur and his brother engaged in athletics in Moscow when Artur was in the sixth grade. They specialized in the 60 meters sprint. Artur became more immersed in football. He later stated football taught him to live. His brother is the 60-meter sprint champion of Russia. Artur always celebrates New Year at home with his family. Sarkisov has recently started learning how to speak Armenian. Artur and his wife Olga studied at the same school. He was 16 when they met. They got married on April 15, 2011. The couple has a son named Artyom.

Club
🇷🇺 Lokomotiv-2 Moscow
 * Russian Second Division Zone West Top Goalscorer: 2010 (21 goals)
 * Russian Second Division Best Zone West Striker (1): 2010

Individual

 * Lokomotiv-2 Moscow Top Goalscorer (2): 2009, 2010
 * Shinnik Footballer of Spring (1): 2012

Early life
Roman Berezovsky was born on 5 August 1974 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR to ethnic Ukrainian parents.

Club career
Roman was also voted Russia's best goalkeeper in the late 1990s. His stable performances in the Armenia national team made him fans' favorite. He is also the current record holder of the saves during penalty kicks in the Russian/USSR championships with 14 saves made.

Berezovsky began his professional career in 1991 in the Soviet Top League. The first club in his career was the modest Koshkagorts. In the first championship of Armenia, the 1992 Armenian Premier League, he started the season in Shengavit Yerevan and ended in Syunik Kapan. After the completion of the season, Berezovsky moved to St. Petersburg, where he played the season with the local Kosmos-Kirovets. After that, for the next season, moved to the Zenit Saint Petersburg. But in that season, he played just five matches.

Zenit Saint Petersburg
Berezovsky, at the lack of match practice in 1995, was loaned to the club Saturn-1991 Saint Petersburg. But due to rent for the season, he played only three matches. After returning to the Zenit, Berezovsky spent the best years of his career there. During the five years spent in Petersburg with the club, he has played in 118 games and in which missed 110 balls. They also managed to win the 1998–99 Russian Cup trophy. Also, the goalkeeper finished third in a list of the 33 best players of the Russian Premier League and won 'Best goalkeeper of the Russian championship' from Russian Sport-Express.

In 1999, Zenit began playing goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, who graduated from the Zenit local football school. After Berezovsky was sent off for insulting the referee, Malafeev made his debut in the match against the Alania Vladikavkaz.

Torpedo Moscow
Berezovsky spent his last season in Zenit in 2000, from which he went to Torpedo Moscow and then in Dynamo Moscow, where he spent the next four years. With the capital club Torpedo, Berezovsky has not won a trophy, but spent a lot of games (88). On June 30, 2003, he was called to play for the Legionnaires team of the Russian Premier League. The Legion team lost to the Russian team 2-5.

Khimki
Berezovsky moved to Khimki in 2006. With him, they won a ticket to the Russian Premier League and four seasons entrenched in it. During this period, Berezovsky has won four individual trophies: 3rd place among goalies on the number of clean sheets in the Russian championships, 1st place among goalkeepers on the number of goals conceded in the championships, and became the Champion of Russia in the Soviet and Russian football as reflected by the number of penalties. Berezovsky became the 26th member of the Lev Yashin club. In a match with Amkar, Khimki won 2-0. This was his one hundredth "dry" game. On April 15, 2008, Berezovsky was elected captain of FC Khimki. On December 27, 2010, Roman signed a new contract with the club. The agreement was a one-year.

Return to Dynamo Moscow
On February 2, 2012, Berezovsky signed a 1.5-year contract with Dynamo Moscow. It had been 10 years since he signed his first contract with Dynamo. He made his debut in a match against Anzhi Makhachkala, in which he missed only one goal.

International career
Roman has participated in 76 international matches since his debut in home 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Portugal on 31 August 1996. He is considered as the best Armenian goalkeeper ever. Berezovsky holds the record of second most capped player of the Armenia national team, after former captain Sargis Hovsepyan. He was controversially given a red card during a decisive UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying game against Ireland. Spanish referee Eduardo Iturralde González, who resigned after the match, penalized Berezovsky for handball, although replays clearly showed his hands never touched the ball. The FFA filed protest over the bad call, but were denied. Berezovsky's undeserved removal had been the factor that cost Armenia the game. He was named the new captain for the national team on October 12, 2012 and first played as captain for a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Italy after Hovsepyan previously retired.

Honours
🇷🇺 Zenit St. Petersburg 🇷🇺 FC Khimki
 * Russian Cup (1): 1998–99
 * Russian Cup Runner-up (1): 2004–05
 * Russian First Division (1): 2006

Honours
🇦🇲 Shirak Gyumri 🇮🇱 Maccabi Petach Tikva 🇨🇭 FC Zürich
 * Armenian Premier League (4): 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999
 * Armenian Supercup (2): 1996, 1999
 * Toto Cup (1): 1999
 * Swiss Cup (1): 2005
 * Swiss Super League (1): 2005–06

Club career
Harutyun Vardanyan was born in Leninakan (now Gyumri), but began his career as a football player at another club and another city - in Lori Vanadzor. In 1989, he returned to Leninakan, where he played for the local Shirak Gyumri. It is for this club Vardanyan spent most seasons and spent the most matches in the history of the club Shirak Gyumri. As part of Shirak, Vardanyan won the Armenian Premier League three time and the Armenian Supercup once and in 1997, he was voted the Armenian Footballer of the Year. This season was the last in the career of the player for his native club, which he spent 9 years in. That year, he signed a contract with Lausanne Sports, where he played for a season and then moved to Cologne, where he played for Fortuna Köln. Vardanyan stayed here for two seasons where he then returned to Switzerland and began to play for a club Young Boys Berne. In 2003, he moved to the Servette Geneva. As part of Geneva, Vardanyan won bronze medals of the Swiss Super League. This success was the only 10-year-old Swiss career Vardanyan. After the end of the season, he moved to Aarau, where he continued to play for the club of the same name, FC Aarau. In early February 2005, Vardanyan was injured in a test match on Aarau against FC Seoul, which left him out of football for six months. In 2006, he moved to the club's first league FC Biel-Bienne, in which and ended his playing career. In total, Vardanyan had 524 matches at an official level, scoring 68 goals.

International career
Vardanyan's first match for the Armenian national team happened on 15 May 1994 in an away game (it was the second game of Armenia in its history) against the national team of the United States. The only goal for the national team Vardanyan had was a goal against Albania in a home game on September 6, 1997. On 29 August 2005, in part to match against the Netherlands and the Czech Republic for the first time after a long break caused by trauma, figured Vardanyan. However, not having played any first-or second-in games, Vardanyan was included in a list of players for the next qualifying match for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Andorra, though expressed his desire not to play for. Thus, he last played for the national team on 17 November 2004 in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Romania.

Legal incident
In April 2007, Harutyun Vardanyan was placed in pre-trial detention by Swiss police for cases involving fines. Causes and circumstances of these penalties in the Swiss media had not been reported. Jean-Marc Hofstetter, President of FC Biel Bienne, for which at the time Vardanyan played for, was surprised by the event. In the end, it turned out that Vardanyan was arrested because he gave 4 people a ride in his Mercedes. Three did not have the right to enter the territory of Switzerland and the 4th came to watch the game of football club Biel-Bienne advocated by Vardanyan. However, the latter in no way influenced the police. Vardanyan was supported supported players, coaches and club management.

Club
🇦🇲 Shirak Gyumri
 * Armenian Premier League (3): 1992, 1994, 1995
 * Armenian Supercup (1): 1996
 * Armenian Premier League Runner-up (3): 1993, 1995–96, 1997
 * Armenian Cup Runner-up (2): 1993, 1994

Individual

 * Armenian Footballer of the Year: 1997

Club career
In 2005, Mkhitaryan was on the verge of signing with Scottish club Hearts, but the contract has not been signed between the two parties due to work permit complications. In October 2006, he joined the Tehran club Pas in the Iran Pro League. In 2007, after Pas was officially dissolved, he signed with another Tehran club, Rah Ahan. After playing for 2 seasons, he joined Armenian Premier League club Banants Yerevan and returned home. He later went back to Iran, where he signed a contract with Damash Gilan. For one season he played on his third Tehran club, Parse Tehran. Mkhitaryan currently plays for Gahar Zagros.

International career
Mkhitaryan debuted for Armenia national team in away friendly match against United States on 15 May 1994. Hamlet participated in 56 international matches and scored 2 goals. He left the national team in 2008.

Club career statistics

 * Last Update: 16 March 2013

Club
🇦🇲 Ararat Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (1): 1993
 * Armenian Cup (3): 1993, 1994, 1995
 * Armenian Cup Runner-up (1): 2001

🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (2): 1995–96, 1996–97
 * Armenian Cup (1): 1996
 * Armenian Supercup (1): 1997
 * Armenian Supercup Runner-up (1): 1996

🇧🇪 MTZ-RIPO Minsk
 * Belarusian Cup (1): 2005

Club career
Ara's career began in Dvin Artashat, where he played with his brother Aram Hakobyan. But a year later, they both got let go. Ara moved to Alania Vladikavkaz and Aram to FC Spartak Yerevan. A year later, their way came together again in Spartak Yerevan. With Hakobyan the club won its only Championship, the 2000 Armenian Premier League.

Metalurh Donetsk and loans
At the end of the Armenian Premier League, Hakobyan moved to Donetsk Metalurh Donetsk. However, in the command Hakobyan spoke rarely, as the club is constantly gave it out to the Ukrainian and Armenian Club. In the 2001-2002 season, he played in Spartak Yerevan. With the end of the season of Spartak, he had teamed up with Banants Kotayk into a single club called Banants Yerevan. Hakobyan was at the club while transiting to Stal Alchevsk. In Banants, Hakobyan played one season and became a Armenian Cup finalist and Armenia's top scorer and Armenian Footballer of the Year in the 2003 season. With the successful performance in Banants, Hakobyan returned to Donetsk, but only briefly. Club sent him back into the rental loan. Until 2009, Hakobyan never spent a full season after serving the team. After the permanent lease in 2007 and ending a contract with Metalurh, Hakobyan goes into Illychivets Mariupol, then in Kishinev Zimbru Chişinău. In Banants, he played in the summer interval Championship and moved to Zimbru Chişinău. Having played the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008, he joined FC Gomel.

Mika Yerevan
For the 2009 Armenian Premier League season, Hakobyan began playing for Mika Yerevan. His only season at the club held relatively full. With 7 goals scored, he did not make 10 of the top scorers in the championship. On December 1, 2009, his contract had expired with Mika. Renew it Hakobyan did not, giving it his priority interventions abroad. During the off season, Ara Hakobyan had gone through viewing FC Minsk, which had not attracted the coaches, as well as to return to former club, but here the dialogue regarding the contract has not come to an end.

Ulisses
In late winter, Hakobyan conduct training in Yerevan's Ulisses, for which he took part in the test match. In February 2010, he entered into a contract with the club for one year. In August, Hakobyan left the club, hoping to move to a foreign club. But the proposal had been received, thus ending the championship and Hakobyan ended in engaging in individual workouts.

Ararat Yerevan
In February 2011, the head coach of Ararat Yerevan said that Hakobyan will perform in the capital club. A contract with Ararat was signed for one year. Hakobyan spoke steadily, efficiently, had become a mainstream figure in the team, but after the summer break, decided to leave the club. Desire for Hakobyan was a performance for the border, in one of the clubs. A little later, was browsing in one of the Polish first division clubs, whose name was to be announced at the conclusion of the negotiations. The talks have not been fruitful and Hakobyan returned home. Before the beginning of the season, he had become known for the return of Ararat. The desire to act in Ararat Hakobyan expressed himself. But after a conversation with the head coach Albert Safaryan, negotiations have dragged on and the contract was signed in the near future. The agreement is valid until May 2013. But, the second coming of the club for Hakobyan did not last long. In June, the parties terminated the contract by mutual consent and Hakobyan left the club. As soon as it became known that, he moved to Alashkert Martuni, for which stands brother Aram Hakobyan.

International career
Hakobyan was a player of the Armenia national football team from 1998 to 2009. During this time, Hakobyan participated in 42 games and scored 7 goals. His first match with the national team was on 21 November 1998 in a friendly home game against Estonia. He is the fifth top goalscorer in history for the national team.

Personal life
Ara's brother Aram Hakobyan is also a football player who has also played for the Armenia national team and many Armenian clubs.

Club
🇦🇲 Spartak Yerevan 🇦🇲 Banants
 * Armenian Premier League (1): 2000
 * Armenian Premier League Runner-up (1): 2002
 * Armenian Premier League 3rd place (1): 1999
 * Armenian Cup Runner-up (1): 2003

🇦🇲 Mika
 * Armenian Premier League Runner-up (1): 2009

Individual

 * Armenian Premier League Top Goalscorer (3): 1998, 2000, 2003
 * Armenian Footballer of the Year (1): 2003
 * Armenian Premier League Record For Most Goals Scored in a Season: 45 goals (2003)

Club career
At age 16, Armen was in Ararat Yerevan, the color he protected for six years. As part of Ararat, thr club won the Armenian Premier League twice in 1993 and 1995 and the Armenian Cup thrice in 1993, 1994, 1995, as well as Shahgeldyan was voted the Armenian Footballer of the Year in 1993. In 1996, the transition took place in the camp of a rival of the time, to whom was Cilicia, then known as Pyunik Yerevan. Here Armen spent only one season, during which he became the 1996–97 Armenian Premier League champion and 1996–97 Armenian Cup and 1997 Armenian Supercup finalist. The next two seasons he spent abroad, try his hand at Ukrainian and Israeli championships, but neither the first nor the second show itself could not. Followed after the first return to his homeland. In 1998, he played for FC Yerevan, which included the 1998 Armenian Premier League bronze medalist and 1998 Armenian Cup finalist. At the end of the Armenian Premier League, he receives an offer from a Swiss club Lausanne Sports, which is contracting. For three seasons, he played for the club. Shahgeldyan appeared in 26 games and scored 6 goals. The situation was similar in Dynamo Moscow, where over half of the season Shahgeldyan appeared on the field just twice. In 2001, the second return home occurred for Shahgeldyan. Armen was home to Mika Yerevan. After crossing, half of the season took place in Cyprus. In 2004, again in Mika, for which conducts a full season, playing in 21 games and scoring 12 goals in them (5th place in the season). At the end of the year was the last departure to a foreign club, Al Ahed, where spent the beginning of the season and then once again moved to the Mika. The last two and a half seasons of his playing career spent in the Ashtarak club, which included two Armenian Cup in 2005, 2006 and one Armenian Supercup in 2006 and recognized as the Armenian Footballer of the Year for a second time in 2006 and the best forward in 2005.

International career
Armen debuted in the Armenia national football team first team in 1992. It was the first match of the team since the independence of Armenia. The match was a friendly against the national team of Moldova, and ended with a score of a zero tie. From now until the end of his playing career in 2007, Armen constantly received calls in the national team. During this time, he played in 53 games, 8th place or all time, and scored 6 goals, 7th place or all time.

Coaching career
Shahgeldyan graduated from the high school of coaches in Moscow. Since 2008, the head of FC Mika-2. In the first 2010 Armenian Premier League match of the season, the club was fined 50,000 drams marked "For constant interference in the match referee from the head coach," Mickey-2 "while playing his charges with Shirak FC-2." Due to the unsatisfactory results of Mika, head coach Armen Adamyan left. In the place the head coach took Armen Shahgeldyan. With the advent Shahgeldyan, results changed. The team often began the trick, but it was not enough to win medals. The new season again entrusted Shahgeldyan. The team was periodically thrown to the side. Therefore, the team managed to win the Cup after a long period. However, the results of the championship outweighed Cups to Shahgeldyan and he had to leave. On the occasion of the removal of the head coach of Mika from office, the vacancy was offered Markarova.

Personal life
He has a son, Andranik, who is also a football player. Andranik played for FC Mika in the first team as a forward during the time Armen was head coach. After the departure of his father as head coach, he went to Ulisses FC for the end of the season.

Club
🇦🇲 Ararat Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (2): 1993, 1995
 * Armenian Premier League 3rd place (1): 1994
 * Armenian Cup (3): 1993, 1994, 1995

🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (1): 1996–97
 * Armenian Premier League Runner-up (2): 2004, 2005
 * Armenian Cup Runner-up (1): 1996–97
 * Armenian Supercup Runner-up (1): 1997

🇦🇲 FC Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League 3rd place (1): 1998
 * Armenian Cup Runner-up (1): 1998

🇦🇲 Mika Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League 3rd place (2): 2006, 2007
 * Armenian Cup (2): 2005, 2006
 * Armenian Supercup (1): 2006
 * Armenian Supercup Runner-up (2): 2004, 2007

Lausanne Sports
 * Swiss Cup (1): 1998, 1999

Individual

 * Armenian Footballer of the Year (2): 1993, 2006
 * Best Forward of Armenia: 2004, 2005

Coach
🇦🇲 Mika
 * Armenian Cup (1): 2011

Club career
Hayrapetyan is the pupil of the German school of football. He played in the amateur Bramefeldere 1945 club and the youth team of Hamburger SV. As part of Hamburger SV II, he spent seven games. Hayrapetyan also played four matches for Pyunik Yerevan. Pyunik won the 2010 Armenian Premier League with Levon a member of the club. In January 2011, he signed a contract with Polish club Lechia Gdańsk for a half-year deal.

International career
He played as a member of the Armenia U-19 junior and Armenia U-21 youth teams.

On 9 February 2011, Hayrapetyan made his debut in the Armenia national football team in a friendly match with Georgia. Levon suffered an injury on September 11, 2012 in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification away match against Bulgaria and underwent knee surgery in Munich. Hayrapetyan stated the operation went successful. He will be able to play again in about four months.

Personal life
Levon is the son of field hockey Olympic medalist Sos Hayrapetyan. His father helped him in training. Hayrapetyan also holds German citizenship. His father moved to Hamburg when Levon was a child in order to play and coach for field hockey club Uhlenhorster HC.

Honours
🇦🇲 Pyunik Yerevan
 * Armenian Premier League (1): 2010