Mel Daluzyan (, born 20 April 1988 in

Leninakan 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 ...

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

), 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 ...

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

. He received the Honoured Master of Sports of Armenia title in 2006.

Biography

Mel Daluzyan started weight training in 2002 under the leadership of Artashes Nersisyan, competing in women's categories as Meline Daluzyan prior to his gender transition. His parents opposed his passion at first but later became proud of his achievements. He is a seven-time Armenian Champion and won the Junior European Championship in both 2005 and 2006. Daluzyan won a bronze medal at the

2006 World Weightlifting Championships The 2006 World Weightlifting Championships were held at the Handball Pavilion and Weightlifting Pavilion Dr. José Joaquín Puello in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The event took place from September 30 to October 7, 2006. Medal summary M ...

. Prior to transition, Daluzyan was the first weightlifter from Armenia to win a World medal in the female category. The next year, Daluzyan won a gold medal at the

2007 European Weightlifting Championships The 2007 in sports, 2007 European Weightlifting Championships were held in Strasbourg, France from 17 April to 22 April 2007. It was the 86th edition of the event, which was first staged in 1896. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Notes ...

and was the first Armenian to become a European Champion in weightlifting. Daluzyan repeated this success at the

2008 European Weightlifting Championships The 2008 European Weightlifting Championships were held in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy from 11 to 20 April 2008. It was the 87th edition of the event, which was first staged in 1896. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Ranking by Big (Total r ...

. Daluzyan was set to compete at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing, but suffered an acute attack of

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

two weeks before the Olympics and was forced to withdraw from the competition.

Hripsime Khurshudyan Hripsime Khurshudyan (, born July 27, 1987, in Kasakh, Armenian SSR) is an Armenian weightlifter. Early life Hripsime was born in the village Kasakh in the Nairi region of Armenian SSR. She has been training in weightlifting since she was 1 ...

competed as substitute. In 2010, Daluzyan won a silver medal at the

2010 European Weightlifting Championships The 2010 European Weightlifting Championships was held in Minsk, Belarus from 2 April to 11 April 2010. It was the 89th edition of the event, which was first staged in 1896. Medals tables Ranking by all medals: "Big" (Total result) and "Small ...

and a bronze medal at the

2010 World Weightlifting Championships The 2010 World Weightlifting Championships were held at Antalya Expo Center in Antalya, Turkey. The event took place from September 17 to September 26, 2010. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Ranking by Big (Total result) medals Rank ...

. At his Olympic debut in 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 ...

he was unable to set a total. Daluzyan's samples from the 2012 Olympics were re-analyzed in May 2019 and found to be positive for

dehydrochlormethyltestosterone Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (dehyd ...

metabolites and

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American ph ...

metabolites, and Daluzyan was disqualified from the Olympic Games.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daluzyan, Mel 1988 births Living people World Weightlifting Championships medalists Weightlifters from Gyumri Olympic weightlifters for Armenia Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Armenian female weightlifters Armenian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in weightlifting European champions in weightlifting European champions for Armenia LGBTQ weightlifters European Weightlifting Championships medalists