RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (A.W.)—Artur Aleksanyan won Armenia’s first gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after defeating Yasmany Daniel Lugo Cabrera of Cuba in the Greco-Roman Wrestling 98 kg final on Aug.16.
Artur Aleksanyan after winning the gold medal match
Aleksanyan, the two-time reigning world champion, won back-to-back matches by technical fall in the quarterfinals and semifinals. He beat Turkey’s Cenk İldem in the semifinals.
During the medal ceremony, Aleksanyan wore a shirt with an image of Robert Abajyan—a junior sergeant killed in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh/NKR) in early April. Abajyan was posthumously awarded with the “Hero of Artsakh” award, which is NKR’s highest honorary title. Abajyan, who was 19 years old when he was killed, is the youngest person to be awarded the title.
Aleksanyan wearing a shirt with an image of Robert Abajyan (Photo: Armenian NOC)
Earlier in the day, Armenia’s Migran Arutyunyan (b. 1989) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, after falling to Davor Štefanek of Serbia in the Greco-Roman Wrestling 66 kg final on Aug. 16.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Artur Aleksanyan Wins Armenia’s First Gold Medal at Rio 2016