Today August 5 until August 21, 10,500 athletes from 205 countries will participate in the 31th Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Games that will extend to 47 sports. 45 heads of state are announced at the opening ceremony Friday, August 5th at the Olympic Stadium in Rio. Among the distinguished guests, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will be present, accompanied by personalities including Gagik Dzaroukian the President of Armenian National Olympic Committee. Armenia scroll with a delegation of about forty members, athletes, managers and coaches, the largest delegation ever recorded by Armenia since its first participation in the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996).
Between 1952 -date of the first participation of the USSR in 1988 and JO- dozens of Armenians athletes had won Olympic titles in the colors of the Soviet Union, Armenia is one of the 15 republics of the USSR .
In ancient times, Armenians were distinguished in the Olympics. Thus at the time of the ancient Olympics two kings Armenians were crowned with victory at Olympia. This is Tiridate, fighting (281 AD) and Varazadat, in boxing (369 AD).
The Olympic team of Armenia will be in Rio with 33 athletes also recorded a record number of participants. These athletes compete in nine sports: athletics, gymnastics, rifle shooting, judo, boxing, weightlifting, Greco-Roman wrestling, the free wrestling and swimming. This is boxing with six athletes in weightlifting (8 athletes) and above all self-control and anti-Greco Roman (10 athletes in total control) that Armenia hopes for medals. Specialists consider especially that Armenia can get one to two Olympic titles in wrestling. Mihran Harutyunyan (66 kg), Arsene Julfalakyan (75 kg), Maxime Manoukyan (85 kg) and especially the largest Armenian Artur hope Alexanyan (98 kg) double world champion and triple European champion, has serious medal chances Olympic.
Receiving the Armenian team before leaving for Rio, Gagik Dzaroukian, president of the Armenian Olympic Committee said that among the 33 members of the Olympic team of Armenia, a score could claim a medal.
Since its first participation in the Summer Olympics (Atlanta 1996) Armenia has only one gold medal -remportée in Greco-Roman wrestling Armen Nazarian to Atlanta- two silver and 9 bronze or 12 medals in total. In 2008 Armenia won in Beijing … 6 medals, all bronze. London 2012 Armenia had returned with 3 medals, 1 silver and 2 bronze. Gold therefore seriously lacking in Armenia. And all the Armenian sports experts say that gold will shine for Rio Armenia.
Krikor Amirzayan