Martin Berberyan ( hy, Մարտին Բերբերյան, born on 22 May 1980) is a retired

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

Freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

wrestler. He is an Armenian Champion, European Champion, World medalist and three-time Olympian. Berberyan was awarded the Master of Sport of Armenia, International Class title in 1998.

Biography

Martin Berberyan started freestyle wrestling in 1987 under the teaching of Samvel Markarian. He became a Junior World Championships silver medalist in 1997 and a Junior European Champion in 1998. In 1999, Berberyan was selected as a member of the Armenian national freestyle wrestling team. Berberyan came in sixth place at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, his best Olympic result. Berberyan won a gold medal at the

2004 European Wrestling Championships The 2004 European Wrestling Championships were held in the men's freestyle in Ankara and men's Greco-Roman style, and the women's freestyle in Haparanda. Medal table Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle Referen ...

. The 2004 European Championships were hosted by

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

and competitions were held on April 24, the same day as the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

committed by the Ottoman Empire began. Because Berberyan became a European Champion at the competition, the Armenian national anthem,

Mer Hayrenik "" ( hy, Մեր Հայրենիք}, ; "Our Fatherland") is the national anthem of Armenia. It was arranged by Barsegh Kanachyan; the lyrics were written by Mikayel Nalbandian. First adopted in 1918 as the anthem of the short-lived First Republic ...

, was played in the Turkish capital on that day. The success of Martin Berberian received wide publicity in Armenia. Immediately after returning to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...

, National Olympic Committee of Armenia President Gagik Tsarukyan handed Berberyan the keys to a new car as a reward. Berberyan came in eleventh place at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. After the Olympics, he moved up in weight class, from 55 kg to 60 kg. He debuted in this new weight class in 2005. Berberyan won a bronze medal at the

2005 World Wrestling Championships The 2005 World Wrestling Championships were held at the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered b ...

that year. His career was interrupted for the next two years due to his recent marriage and move to the United States. Berberyan returned to the mat in 2008 and qualified to take part at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He came in seventeenth place. After that, Martin Berberyan decided to complete his wrestling career. As of 2008, he is the main wrestling coach at the Los Angeles Sports Club, International Sports Union.

References

External links

Official website

ISU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berberyan, Martin 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Yerevan Armenian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Armenia Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Championships medalists 20th-century Armenian people 21st-century Armenian people