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(Combined Sources) – Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Aleksanyan became Armenia’s first gold medal winner at the 2016 Olympic games in Rio.
During the medal ceremony, Aleksanyan wore a shirt with an image of Robert Abajyan, a junior sergeant killed during the April War in Nagorno Karabakh. Robert Abajyan was posthumously awarded with the Golden Eagle Order and was granted the highest Honorary Title of the “Hero of Artsakh.”
Aleksanyan defeated Cuba’s Yasmany Lugo in the final round of the 98kg Greco-Roman wrestling tournament to win his first Olympic gold medal. It’s the second Olympic medal in total for Aleksanyan, who earned bronze four years ago in London. He is now the first Armenian athlete in any sport to win multiple Olympic medals.
This is the second gold medal for Armenia in the Olympics since its independence in 1991. The last time Armenia won an Olympic gold medal was in 1996, by Greco-Roman wrestler Armen Nazaryan.