Hrant Shahinyan (, 30 July 1923 – 29 May 1996), also known as Grant Shaginyan, 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 ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. Specializing in the still rings and

pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

, he is a two-time Olympic Champion, two-time World Champion and seven-time USSR Champion. Shahinyan has awarded the honors

Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR Unified All-Russian Sports Classification () is a system which regulates the Russian physical education system requirements for both athletes and coaches. History In the Soviet period Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR () exist ...

in 1952, Honored Coach of Armenia in 1961 and Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports of the Armenian SSR in 1966. From 1967 to 1969, he headed the Sports Committee of the Armenian SSR and from 1969 to 1975 he was the Deputy Chairman of the Sports Committee.

Early life

Hrant Shahinyan was born on 30 July 1923 in the village of Gyulagarak. His family moved to

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 ...

in 1930. In 1943 at the age of 20, Shahinyan volunteered to fight in the front line in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and received a wounded leg during service. He had to walk with a stick afterward, but after undergoing treatment in 1946 and through much hard work, was able to become a member of the USSR Artistic Gymnastic National Team.

Biography

Hrant Shahinyan began studying gymnastics under Harutyun Gargaloyana after moving to

. In 1939, he became the undisputed champion of the USSR among juniors. As a member of the

Soviet Union 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 ...

national team, Shahinyan competed at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Shahinyan had qualified for every event. The Soviet team won the Team All-Around gold medal. Afterwards Shahinyan competed in the Individual All-Around, where he won the silver medal, coming in second to Viktor Chukarin, who would not only prove to be Shahinyan's rival, but the most decorated Olympian of the 1952 Olympics. Shahinyan was unable to best Chukarin in the pommel horse either. He tied in second with stablemate Yevgeny Korolkov, resulting in two silver medalists. Shahinyan came in fourth place in the parallel bars. When it came time for the still rings, Shahinyan scored higher than Chukarin and the rest of the participants to win the gold medal of the event and became the Olympic Champion in rings"1952 Summer Olympics – Helsinki, Finland – Gymnastics"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on April 4, 2008) with a score of 9.950, a score which, among the men, between 1952 and 1976, seems to have been equaled or surpassed at a World Championships or Olympics only by fellow

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

-Soviet

Albert Azaryan Albert Azaryan (; 11 February 1929 – 5 September 2023) was a Soviet and Armenian artistic gymnast who competed internationally representing the Soviet Union. He was the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Champion on the still rings. Azaryan was the first ...

, also on the rings, at the

1954 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 13th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Rome, the capital of Italy, on June 28 - July 1, 1954. It was the first World Championships at which the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly k ...

. Two years later at the

, Shahinyan became a World Champion in the pommel horse by winning the gold medal of the event and the Soviet team won the gold medal in the Team All-Around once again. Shahinyan also won a bronze medal in the Individual All-Around. In 1958, Shahinyan founded the Youth Gymnastic Olympic Sports School in the Armenian capital

, and became the director of the sports school. In 1975, Shahinyan arrived in Damascus to manage the Syrian gymnastics national team for almost 5 years until 1980. Later, he returned to Armenia and lived there until his death in 1996.

Legacy

Shahinyan, who won two gold medals and two silver medals in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

at the

, is the first Armenian in modern Olympic history to win an Olympic medal. To highlight the level of success of Armenians in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

, Shahinyan was quoted as saying: in 2014, Shahinyan's statue was erected at the entrance of the Hrant Shahinyan gymnastics school of Yerevan.

References

External links

*
Shahinyan at ArmNOC
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahinyan, Hrant 1923 births 1996 deaths Armenian male artistic gymnasts Soviet male artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for the Soviet Union Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in gymnastics Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Soviet Armenians Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union