Armenia’s gymnasts dominate FIG World Cup series

Growing up in Glendale and Las Vegas, I dreamed of becoming a soccer or basketball star. Athletes like Artur Davtyan don’t need to dream about their reality. Once again, Davtyan has proven why he’s among the best at what he does—and he’s not alone.

The world of gymnastics is incomplete without the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup. For those unfamiliar (like myself three years ago), the FIG World Cup is a global series of competitions in which gymnasts compete in a variety of routines: floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars.

32-year-old Artur Davtyan led Armenia’s gymnastics team to the first of six World Cup series in Cottbus, Germany between February 20-23. While Armenia’s gymnasts wouldn’t compete in all six series, when all was said and done, Armenia finished among the top countries.

Two Armenians won medals to begin the country’s 2025 gymnastics journey. Both Artur and Vahagn Davtyan won gold medals: Artur in vault and Vahagn in rings. Artur vaulted his way to a commanding 14.900 gold medal finish, scoring .600 more points than the second place Ukrainian competitor. Vahagn Davtyan scored a 14.133 in still rings to beat an Azerbaijani and Turkish opponent for gold. Artur Avetisyan finished fourth with a 13.996 score.

The next leg of the FIG World Cup brought gymnasts to Baku—with no Armenian athletes in attendance. This aligns with Armenia’s historical stance of abstaining from competition in Azerbaijan. As much as I’d love to get on my soapbox about the injustices that face Armenians, the competition continues and Armenian athletes aren’t feeling sorry for themselves.

The third installment of the 2025 FIG World Cup series was held on March 20-23 in Antalya, Turkey—yet another country where Armenian athletes don’t receive the warmest ovations. In the end, Artur Davtyan was the only Armenian medalist, winning his 22nd career gold by scoring a 14.650 in vault. Talk about one of the few medals to stand out for Armenia in the World Cup series! Armenia would prove that each city delivers its own unique narrative.

In the fourth series in Osijek, Croatia, held on April 10-13, Armenia walked away with three medals. This series was unique as it saw the rise of 17-year-old Hamlet Manukyan, in his first year age-eligible for senior competition. It’s safe to say that Manukyan will quickly become a household name in Armenia. He earned his first senior gold medal in pommel horse, scoring a 14.633, while Mamikon Khachatryan finished fourth with a 14.066 score. Despite Manukyan’s youth, this was one for revenge. He was a favorite to medal in the World Cup, qualifying for the pommel horse final in first place. During the final, he fell off the horse and finished eighth. 

Artur Avetisyan secured his first medal of the World Cup with bronze in rings, Armenia’s second medal in the competition. Yet, Artur Davtyan’s bronze medal finish in vault was uncharacteristic. The bar has been set so high for Davtyan that anything less than silver is seen as an injustice or a missed opportunity, although a medal is still worth celebrating.

That wouldn’t be the narrative come the penultimate FIG World Cup series in Doha. Armenia secured four medals—its highest medal return in a single series. Artur Davtyan brushed off the bronze rust and recaptured gold in vault with a 14.449 score. It was .066 points better than second place and as sweet as any victory for Davtyan. 

Joining the decorated gymnast atop the podium was rising star Hamlet Manukyan, who won back-to-back gold medals in pommel horse with a 14.700 score. Finally, Armenia had two athletes finish on the podium in the rings exercise, as Vahagn Davtyan won silver with 14.333 and Artur Avetisyan won bronze with 14.200. This round was tight, as the first place finisher had a 14.400 score. In all, Armenia had momentum going into the final World Cup series in Cairo, held from April 25-28.

Armenia concluded the competition with a trio of gold medals: Artur Davtyan in vault, Hamlet Manukyan in pommel horse and Artur Avetisyan in rings. It’s an ending fit for a country rich in athletic history. These results culminated in Hamlet Manukyan and Artur Davtyan being crowned the series winners in the Apparatus World Cup for their respective exercises.

The World Cup series ended with Armenia winning 13 medals. However, the flips and tricks aren’t over. The World Challenge Cup series launches into action May 8-11 in Varna, Bulgaria.

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Jason Takhtadjian

Jason Takhtadjian is an evening reporter at CBS47/KSEE24 in Fresno, California. Takhtadjian began college pursuing mechanical engineering with a focus on aerospace until deciding to pursue a sports broadcast career after one semester at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas. While at UNLV, Takhtadjian worked on his own weekly radio show/podcast covering soccer and basketball, produced his own sports debate show, was part of the university’s weekly sports show “The Rebel Report” and was the play-by-play commentator for UNLV men’s and women’s soccer and basketball, to name a few. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Jason was graduating college and had to pivot to the world of general news to land a job. This landed Jason in Sioux City, Iowa for his first TV job. For three years, Jason worked in the middle of the United States with no Armenian community. He became the senior reporter at the station, as well as the weekend anchor and producer for nearly two years. Takhtadjian accepted a reporter position in Fresno in April of 2024. The 26-year-old also works as a contributor for Armenian Sports News, the fastest growing English-based Armenian sports social media page.

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