Benur Pashayan (; 13 February 1959 – 13 December 2019) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 was a two-time World, European, and Soviet Champion. Pashayan also won a gold medal at the 1984

Friendship Games The 1984 Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other Eastern Bloc states which boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in ...

during the Olympic boycott.

Biography

Benur Pashayan was born on 13 February 1959 in the village of Azavret within the Akhalkalak region of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. He began

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 ...

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 ...

under the direction of Albert Mnatsakanyan and Harutyun Khachatryan. In 1977 and 1979 he became the Junior World Champion. Pashayan was a

1981 Summer Universiade The 1981 Summer Universiade, also known as the XI Summer Universiade, took place in Bucharest, Romania. The events were watched by 200,000 spectators. Sports * * * * * * * * * * Medal table External links Universiada 81-TVR {{FISU ...

Champion, a two-time European Champion, having won consecutive gold medals at the 1981 and 1982

European Wrestling Championships The European Wrestling Championships is the second oldest international wrestling competition of the modern world and the main wrestling championships in Europe. It predates World Wrestling Championships and other regional wrestling championships ...

, and a two-time and reigning World Champion, having also won consecutive gold medals at the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and 1983 World Wrestling Championships. For 1983, he was recognized by the FILA as the best Greco-Roman wrestler. Having been ranked first in his weight class the past two years, he was the gold medal favorite of the Greco-Roman flyweight (52 kg) division at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. However, because of the

1984 Summer Olympics boycott The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles followed four years after the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved nineteen countries: fifteen from the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union, w ...

, Pashayan was denied participation. Instead, he and the other Soviet and Soviet-affiliated athletes competed at the 1984

. Benur won a gold medal in wrestling at the Games. He later participated at the Grand Prix of Germany in 1984 and 1985, having previously won the competition in 1982. Pashayan came in first place every time at the contest. He retired in 1985, undefeated in international competition. From 1986 to 1989 he was the coach in Soviet Armenia, and in 1989 he graduated from the

Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport () is a higher educational institution institute, located in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1945 and prepares coached, sport journalists, and specialists in the field of health improving ...

. Pashayan later became the President of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia from 1999 to 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pashayan, Benur 1959 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Samtskhe–Javakheti Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport alumni Friendship Games medalists in wrestling Soviet male sport wrestlers Armenian male sport wrestlers World Wrestling Championships medalists Soviet Armenians Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union European Wrestling Championships medalists Georgian people of Armenian descent Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade Armenian sports executives and administrators Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR