Special Reports
Armenian Olympians: Ancient Olympiads to London 2012
Long before Baron Pierre de Coubertin, after a nearly 1200-year hiatus, organized the Modern Olympics of "Athens 1896," the Ancient Olympics that began in 776 B.C. honored countless athletes every four years, including some famous Armenians.
Among them, Prince Varazdat Arshakuni (Վարազդատ in Armenian; Latinized as Varastades)
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Great article.
Wow ! the young man has done his research.
AW is picking up some talented interns: future community leaders in the making.
Looks like the US women’s water polo won gold in London:
http://www.london2012.com/water-polo/event/women/teams/team=united-states-wpw400usa01/
Two Armenians represented the Ottoman empire at the 1912 olympics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_at_the_1912_Summer_Olympics
If I’m not mistaken I read an article about or an interview with one of the 2 Armenians from the 1912 Olympics. He said he had befriended Jim Thorpe who, of course, was representing the US. He was racing Thorpe and beating him in one race but said when he imagined the Turkish flag being raised if he were to win, he slowed down and deliberately did not win. Must have been in an old Weekly article. Must be archived.
Nice info in this article. I will say that as much as I am proud of Armenia’s achievements, at the same time I am disappointed taking the entire world Armenian population into perspective. We can do much better than this, there is a lot of room for improvement. We do this great big hoopla about sports and homentmen every year, and nothing to show for where it really counts, the Olympics, world championships, etc.
Just look at Great Britain as an example, when they saw how poorly they did in previous Olympics, they took special action, and as the Olympics were to be held in London, the action was even more urgent… and they succeeded as one of the top medaling countries. I think this is what we lack, a sense of urgency… our mentality is that oh wow we got a bronze and therefore we are content. Instead our mentality should be that not winning many golds is not an option!
Of course some may feel I am being unrealistic, after all being an Olympian is very hard, disciplined work, not to mention very expensive. So why is it that we don’t have committees that give young Armenians, at the very least, opportunities to show and develop their talents if they express willingness and a desire to be Olympians at an early age? There are a lot of kids in Armenia (as well as diaspora) who have the capabilities of becoming athletes, but don’t have the encouragement, funding or guidance to achieve their dreams.
Also, Armenians must come out of their shell and open their repertoire to more sports than boxing, wrestling and weightlifting. I realize some sports need special physical features to be successful in, like basketball and volleyball requires tall players, gymnastics, shorter ones, etc. But most sports don’t have these restrictions. Besides, take shot-put for example, why weren’t there any Armenians there? I know a couple gigantic Armenians myself who would probably win a medal without even training.
All told though, I am very proud of what Armenia achieved at these Olympics taking into consideration their size and being surrounded by evil, wicked countries who want to see nothing but its downfall. They showed many documentaries during the Olympics, yet Armenia’s case would have been a great documentary showing how a country who is blockaded and landlocked by Turks succeeded in showing at the Olympics and even taking medals and doing better than most other countries. Now that in itself deserves a gold medal!
I think archery would be a nice area for Armenians to excel in. It would have historic symbolism.
Great article, Arman. Congratulations.
This is a good article for a young man but, the first time Armenians participated at 1912. You could find more information in Hayk Demoyan’s book. Thank you .
Congratulations Arman for your research and input. Nice to remember our pride and history during ages. Armenia’s participation and winning 3 medals in London, is an honorable presence by itself, taking into consideration the number of the athlets of the other competing countries. Congratulations to the heros. Meanwhile, “Navasartian” games also in our history considered as our own Olympics. For which, we are keeping that high and vivid spirit presently in Armenia and Diaspora. Our wish today, is to see more participants and couragment from Motherland for more victories and achievements in various fiields of Sports in Armenia.