Artur Davtyan first Armenian to medal at the Paris Olympics

We are already halfway through the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. More than a handful of Armenian athletes representing the homeland and beyond have taken the world’s stage, with one shining bright above all. In the world of gymnastics, Artur Davtyan is among the best. Winning gold in 12 of his 14 competitions prior to the Olympics, Davtyan was riding one of the highest waves. At the Olympics, Davtyan qualified for the final round in the men’s vault, scoring a 14.666. He watched each of his seven competitors vault one after another prior to competing. Davtyan was last, but certainly not least. His first attempt caught everyone, even the commentators, by surprise. His 14.966 score would have been enough for a second place finish, but Davtyan had another vault to do. Davtyan’s coach was heard saying “good job” and praising his efforts in Armenian. Davtyan took a deep breath, exhaled and launched himself. His second attempt was also a resounding success. On the Olympics official broadcast feed, the British commentary team was coming to conclusions about the top three finishers — Carlos Yulo (Philippines), Harry Hepworth (Great Britain) and Jake Jarman (Great Britain). This was all while waiting for Davtyan’s second attempt score and final average score. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-SJOsdM3tA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D Ultimately, the judges also gave Davtyan a 14.966 for his second vault, which meant the 31-year-old Armenian gymnast etched his name in Armenian sports history. Davtyan became the first Armenian to medal in Paris, won Armenia’s first silver medal in gymnastics and became a two-time Olympic medalist. He finished behind Yuto who had a 15.116 and in front of Hepworth who scored 14.949. The difference between bronze and silver was just .02 points. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-QRRbsMLvG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D Arthur’s older brother Vahagn also competed in a medal final. Vahagn was among the top eight competitors in men’s rings, scoring a 14.733 to advance to the final. He was the final competitor, just like his brother, and secured a 14.866 score. He finished in sixth place, missing out on a medal. Vahagn bowed out of Paris as the oldest gymnastics competitor at the tournament at age 35. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-I5dtGOXWW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D Varsenik Manucharyan was Armenia’s first athlete to compete at the Olympics. Manucharyan was part of the first heat in the women’s 100m butterfly and finished third with a time of 1:01:24. She finished 26th overall, more than three seconds from a spot in the semifinal. Artur Barseghyan was Armenia’s other representative in the swimming pool. Barseghyan competed in the men’s 100m freestyle and finished 56th out of 79 competitors, missing out on the semifinals. With a time of 51.54, Barseghyan’s run at the Olympics also came to an end. In shooting, Elmira Karapetyan was a whisker away from advancing to the final. In the qualifier, Karapetyan earned a score of 576. She finished only one point shy of China’s Li Xue, China’s Jiang Ranxin and Turkey’s Sevval Tarhan, who each had 577. Only the top eight move on to the final, showing the fine margins that can make a big difference at the Olympics. Armenia’s final representative in the first half of the Olympics had a dream start to his competition. Boxer and flag bearer Davit Chaloyan got his time in the men’s super heavyweight division, starting with second-ranked Delicious Orie of Great Britain. In that round of 16, all five judges scored the first round in favor of the Brit, and an uphill battle ensued for the Armenian. Chaloyan showed fight, heart and a few solid combinations, subduing Delicious’ danger. In the end, the judges ruled the contest a split decision in favor of Chaloyan. The 3-2 score sent Chaloyan to the quarterfinals where he was one win away from guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. Chaloyan’s remarkable start was put to an end in the next round, losing 5-0 to Spain’s Ayoub Ghadfa. Some Armenian athletes and coaches aren’t competing at the Olympics under the red, blue and orange flag. Table tennis player Mariana Sahakyan of Lebanon earned a career-best finish at the Olympics. Sahakyan defeated Zhiying Zheng of Chile 4-1 in the preliminary round. She previously competed at Rio 2016 where she lost in the preliminary round. Her run came to an end after losing to Lily Zhang of the U.S. 4-0 in the round of 64. Fencer Hadley Husisian of the U.S. competed in both the women’s individual and team épée. Individually, Husisian made it as far as the round of 16, where she lost to eventual gold medalist Vivian Kong of Hong Kong 15-12. As a team, the U.S. only made it to the quarterfinal where they lost to Poland 31-29. Boxer Nikolai Terteryan of Denmark was also in action during the first half of the Olympics. Born in Yerevan and raised in Denmark, Terteryan qualified for Paris after winning a gold medal in light middleweight at the 2023 European Games in Poland. He ended his first Olympic bout with an upset victory against Makan Traoré of host France 4-1. Two coaches of Armenian heritage were also in action. U.S. women’s water polo head coach Adam Krikorian led his team to a 3-1 record in the preliminary round. Krikorian’s first taste of knockout play was against 2020 bronze medalist Hungary in a thrilling contest on August 6. Both teams traded scores until the final few minutes of the game. The U.S. took the late lead and stuck to it, earning a 5-4 win. The Americans will next face Australia in the semifinals on Thursday, August 8. Krikorian looks to lead the women’s national team to a fourth consecutive gold medal and his 28th gold medal as a coach. Jumping out of the water and onto the hardwood, Australia men’s basketball head coach Brian Goorjian squeezed through the preliminary round with a 1-2 winning record and advanced with a better point differential. Australia was grouped with Canada, Greece and Spain, arguably the most competitive basketball group at the Olympics. Goorjian faced two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball tournament on August 6. Despite building a 24-point lead, Australia came up short in overtime 95-90. Finally, wrestling is underway in Paris, and a few Armenians were in action. In the men’s Greco-Roman 77kg, three Armenians representing three different nations competed on August 6. Aik Mnatsakanian of Bulgaria did not make it out of the first round, losing to Sanan Suleymanov of Azerbaijan 2-0. Aram Vardanyan of Uzbekistan made it to the quarterfinals but lost 12-2 to Nao Kusaka of Japan. Armenia’s representative, Malkhas Amoyan, will have a shot at a medal. Amoyan cruised through the round of 16 and quarterfinals with a combined 11-0 score; however, he also matched up with Nao Kusaka of Japan. Although Amoyan lost to Kusaka 3-1, the Olympic debutant will have a shot at a bronze medal on August 7. In men’s Greco-Roman 97kg, Artur Aleksanyan is vying for a second Olympic gold medal. Aleksanyan made easy work of his round of 16 and quarterfinals opponents before a highly-anticipated semifinal ensued. He locked horns with Gabriel Rosillo of Cuba, the same opponent that got the better of “The White Bear” in the 2023 World Championship final. Rosillo began the bout with a 3-0 lead before a reversal move executed by Aleksanyan quickly brought it to 3-1. With his arms wrapped around the Cuban, Aleksanyan performed back-to-back reversal gut-wrenches, tallying four points and heading into the break with a 5-4 advantage. The final three minutes were spent upright, as both fighters resorted to hand fighting and trying to gain control of the other. The time continued to tick, each second passing at a snail’s pace. The timer sounded with Aleksanyan maintaining the 5-3 score, punching his ticket to the gold medal match on August 7 against Mohammad Hadi Saravi of Iran. Armenia still has a competitor running in the men’s 800m, along with a handful of Armenian athletes representing other nations. The Olympics will conclude on Sunday, August 11. This article was updated at 8:20 p.m. on August 6, 2024 with the latest developments from the Paris Olympics.

Artur Davtyan first Armenian to medal at the Paris Olympics

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Jason Takhtadjian

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This story is FREE for you...

Jason Takhtadjian

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