Artur Aleksanyan (, born 21 October 1991) is an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

wrestler. He is an Olympic Champion (2016) as well as silver medalist (2021, 2024) and bronze medalist (2012), a four-time World Champion (2014, 2015, 2017, 2022), and a seven-time European Champion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024). Aleksanyan is the second Olympic gold medalist of Armenia since regaining independence in 1991 and is the most decorated Olympian of independent Armenia as well. He has been nicknamed the "White Bear" by a sport journalist Karen Giloyan and is one of the most successful Armenian athletes of the 21st century.

Career

Aleksanyan was born in

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

. He started

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

in 2000 under the guidance of his father Gevorg Aleksanyan, an honored coach of Armenia. He competed in several junior tournaments and became a Junior World Champion at 84 kg in 2010. In 2011, Aleksanyan moved up a weight class to 96 kg and began competing as a senior. After winning the Armenian Championship that same year, Aleksanyan joined the Armenian national Greco-Roman wrestling team. He made his European Championship debut at the

2011 European Wrestling Championships The 2011 FILA European Wrestling Championships were held in Dortmund, Germany, from 29 March to 3 April 2011. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle External linksOfficial website {{E ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

and won the silver medal. The following year, Aleksanyan won a gold medal at the

2012 European Wrestling Championships The 2012 European Wrestling Championships were held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 8 March to 11 March 2012.Archived copy

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, winning five matches while only giving up one point. Aleksanyan came in first place at the 2012 Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

shortly afterwards and won the right to participate at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In the opening round he defeated Daigoro Timoncini (Italy) and in quarterfinals lost to eventual champion

Ghasem Rezaei Ghasem Rezaei (; born 18 August 1985) is an Iranian former Greco-Roman wrestler. He was an Olympic gold and bronze medalist and two-time Asian Champion. His nickname is Tiger of Amol. Career Rezaei first success at the international level was 2 ...

(Iran), but in the repechage rounds defeated Cenk Ildem (Turkey) and

Yunior Estrada Yunior Estrada Falcón (born 23 September 1986) is a Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler. He competed in the Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman 96 kg, Greco-Roman 96 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he was defeated ...

(Cuba) to win a bronze medal. He won another gold medal at the

2013 European Wrestling Championships The 2013 European Wrestling Championships were held in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 19 March to 24 March 2013. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle (*) Romanian original silver medallist ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, making him a two-time European Champion. Upon returning home, the Mayor of

Samvel Balasanyan Samvel Balasanyan is an Armenian politician. He was the mayor of Gyumri and a former Deputy Speaker of National Assembly of Armenia. Early life Balasanyan was born on October 12, 1954, in Gyumri, which was named Leninakan at the time. Mr. Bal ...

received Aleksanyan and congratulated the athlete on his recent victory in the European Championships. Balasanyan thanked Aleksanyan for restating the sporting legacy of Gyumri with his performance and awarded him directly. Later that year he won a silver medal at the

2013 World Wrestling Championships The 2013 World Wrestling Championships was the 9th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and were held from September 16 to 22 in Budapest, Hungary. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco- ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. In 2014, Aleksanyan won the gold medal at the

2014 European Wrestling Championships The 2014 European Wrestling Championships was held in Vantaa, Finland, from 1 April to 6 April 2014. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle Participating nations 445 competitors fr ...

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

, winning his third European Championship, and later that year also won the gold medal at the

2014 World Wrestling Championships The 2014 UWW World Wrestling Championships were the 10th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and were held from September 8 to 14 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's ...

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. This was the first World Championship of his senior career. He defeated Ghasem Rezaei in the semifinals, avenging his Olympic loss, and defeated Oliver Hassler (Germany) in the finals. Aleksanyan was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year for 2014. The following year, he won his second World Championships by winning another gold medal at the

2015 World Wrestling Championships The 2015 UWW World Wrestling Championships were the 12th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held from September 7 to 12 at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Medal table T ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He defeated Rezaei again in the finals. Aleksanyan was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year for 2015, being named the title for a second year in a row. Aleksanyan entered his second Olympic competition at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He won consecutive matches against Daigoro Timoncini (Italy), Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (Romania), Cenk Ildem (Turkey), and

Yasmany Lugo Yasmany Lugo (born 24 January 1990) is a Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an i ...

(Cuba) and won the gold medal. This made Aleksanyan the second Olympic gold medalist of an independent Armenia, after

Armen Nazaryan Armen Nazaryan (, , born 9 March 1974) is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler who later represented Bulgaria. Nazaryan is a two-time Olympic Champion (1996, 2000), a three-time World Champion (2002, 2003, 2005), and a six-time European Champion ( ...

in 1996. He also became the first Armenian Olympic Champion of the 21st century. In addition, he is the first to win a second Olympic medal for Armenia and as of the 2016 Olympics is the most decorated Olympic sportsman of his country. Aleksanyan was the first wrestler to win two World Championships in between Olympics followed by winning an Olympic gold medal since

Aleksandr Karelin Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin ( rus, Александр Александрович Карелин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kɐˈrʲelʲɪn; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete. Karelin co ...

in 1996. He was the flag bearer of Armenia at the closing ceremony. During the medal ceremony, Aleksanyan revealed a shirt under his Olympic jacket with a portrait of Robert Abajyan, a 19-year-old Armenian junior sergeant who was killed in the

2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War, April War, or April clashes, began along the former Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on o ...

of April earlier that year. He dedicated his medal to the Armenian soldiers protecting the border and the victims of the conflict. Aleksanyan also stated he wore the picture of Abajyan so that the whole world would recognize their heroes and also wished that their heroes would not be forgotten. Ruben Abajyan, the elder brother of Robert, expressed gratitude for Aleksanyan: "It was much unexpected for me, for my family members. I can't explain what emotions I had. I was touched, I felt pride; it's hard to explain." Upon arriving back at Armenia, Aleksanyan was approached and hugged by a man at the airport who revealed himself to be Abajyan's father and thanked Aleksanyan for honoring his son. In 2019, Aleksanyan lit the second torch for the

Pan-Armenian Games The Pan-Armenian Games () are a multi-sport event, held between competitors from the Armenian diaspora and Armenia. They consist of various competitions in individual and team sports among the Armenian athletes. It takes place in Yerevan, the cap ...

Khor Virap Khor Virap () is an Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about south of Artashat, Armenia, Artashat, Ararat Province, within the territory of ancient Artaxata. The mon ...

He won the silver medal in the 97 kg event at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

held in Tokyo, Japan. He won the gold medal in the 97kg event at the

2022 World Wrestling Championships The 2022 World Wrestling Championships was the 17th edition of the World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held between 10 and 18 September 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The UWW Bureau approved the candidature of Belgrade, Serbia as ...

held in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2024, Aleksanyan won the silver medal in the 97kg event at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

held in Paris, France.

Personal life

Aleksanyan graduated from the Gyumri State Pedagogical Institute. His father Gevorg is also his coach and holds the title of Honored Coach of Armenia. He also has a brother named Rafayel. The wrestling school Aleksanyan trains at was named after him in June 2015 after he won his second World Championship. He has been nicknamed the "White Bear" by his fans. In addition to wrestling, he also likes to play

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. In October 2016, Aleksanyan became an honorary citizen of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, along with fellow 2016 Olympic wrestling champion Mihran Harutyunyan.

Awards

Aleksanyan was awarded the

Khorenatsi medal The Movses Khorenatsi Medal () is Armenia's highest cultural award. It is presented by the president of Armenia to people who have significantly contributed to the advancement of Culture of Armenia, Armenian culture. Artist Richard Jeranian receiv ...

in 2012, the "For Merit" 1st degree medal in 2014, and the "For Service to Fatherland" 2nd degree medal in 2015.

References

External links

* * * * *
Artur Aleksanyan
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksanyan, Artur 1991 births Living people Armenian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Armenia Olympic gold medalists for Armenia Olympic silver medalists for Armenia Olympic bronze medalists for Armenia Olympic medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics World Wrestling Champions World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Champions Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling FISU World University Games silver medalists for Armenia Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade European Games medalists in wrestling European Games gold medalists for Armenia Wrestlers at the 2019 European Games Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Shirak State University alumni Sport wrestlers from Gyumri Wrestlers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics