Shavarsh Vladimiri (Vladimirovich) Karapetyan (; born 19 May 1953) is a Soviet-Armenian former finswimmer. He was best known for saving the lives of 20 people in a 1976 incident in

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 ...

Biography

Karapetyan was born on 19 May 1953, in Armenia's third largest city of

Kirovakan Vanadzor (, ) is an urban municipal community and the third largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city h ...

(now called

Vanadzor Vanadzor (, ) is an urban municipal community and the third largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city h ...

again), then part of the Soviet Union. His family moved to

in 1964, where Shavarsh finished eight years of school and then attended a

technical school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocationa ...

for auto-mechanics. On the advice of family friends, he started to learn swimming at a young age. He later switched to finswimming. In 1975–1976, Karapetyan served in a

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western ...

base in the

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

military district.

1974 bus incident

In 1974 Shavarsh was riding a bus when the driver pulled over to check on a mechanical problem. The engine was left running and the bus suddenly started rolling down towards a mountain gorge. Karapetyan broke down the partition separating the passengers from the driver's compartment, then took control of the steering wheel and turned the bus away from the cliff.

1976 trolleybus incident

On 16 September 1976, Karapetyan was jogging alongside

Yerevan Lake Yerevan Lake ( (''Yerevanyan lich'')) is an artificial reservoir located in the capital of Armenia in Yerevan. It was formed between 1963 and 1966, to be opened in 1967. 1976 bus accident On September 16, 1976 Shavarsh Karapetyan training with h ...

with his brother Kamo. Karapetyan had just completed his usual finswimming distance of when he heard the sound of a crash and saw a sinking trolleybus. The trolleybus had lost control and fallen from a dam wall, laying at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 meters (80 ft) offshore at a depth of 10 meters (33 ft). Despite the challenging conditions of sewage-infested waters and poor visibility due to silt, Karapetyan dived in and used his legs to kick open the back window of the trolleybus. He managed to rescue 46 out of the 92 passengers onboard, saving the lives of 20 individuals. In total he dove 20 times, each dive lasting about 25 seconds, and pulled out a total of 37 people. 9 others escaped on their own through the window he broke. Only 20 of the 46 survived, despite medical attention at the scene. Today’s experts agree that no one but Shavarsh could have possibly done what he has done. The combined effect of multiple lacerations from glass shards led to Karapetyan's hospitalization for 45 days, as he developed pneumonia and

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

. Subsequent lung complications prevented Karapetyan from continuing his sports career. He did, however, insist on one last meet despite his damaged lungs, and managed to set a new world record despite the pain. Karapetyan's achievement was not immediately recognized. All related photos were kept at the district attorney's office and were only published two years later. He was awarded the Medal "For the Salvation of the Drowning" and the

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

. He became a household name in the USSR when ''

Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth'). History and profile During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...

'' published the article on his feat, entitled "The Underwater Battle of the Champion", on 12 October 1982. This publication revealed that he was the rescuer; and he received about 60,000 letters.

Swimming career

During his career, Karapetyan became a

Merited 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 ...

and an eleven-time world record-breaker in finswimming. He acquired 7 Soviet championships, 13 European championships, and 17 world championships for a total of 37 gold medals by the time he retired at the age of 24. In 1982, Karapetyan was awarded a UNESCO " Fair Play" letter of congratulations. He has also coached his son Tigran and headed the Shavarsh Karapetyan Foundation to support young swimmers.

1985 burning building incident

On 15 February 1985, Karapetyan was near the

Karen Demirchyan Complex Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex (), also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large multi-purpose sports and concert complex with 184 stairs leading up Tsitsernakaberd h ...

when a fire broke out, trapping people inside. He came to the aid of firefighters and participated in the rescue of multiple people. Once again, he was badly hurt with severe burns and spent a long time in the hospital.

Later life

The

main belt asteroid The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...

3027 Shavarsh, discovered by

Nikolai Chernykh Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh ( rus, Никола́й Степа́нович Черны́х, , nʲɪkɐˈlaj sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ tɕɪrˈnɨx, links=yes; 6 October 1931 – 25 May 2004Казакова, Р.К. Памяти Николая Сте ...

in 1978 at the

Crimean Astrophysical Observatory The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO, obs. code: 095) is located at Nauchnij research campus, near the Central Crimean city of Bakhchysarai, on the Crimean peninsula. CrAO is often called simply by its location and campus name ...

, was named after him (and approved by the

MPC MPC, Mpc or mpc may refer to: Astronomy * Megaparsec (Mpc), unit of length used in astronomy * Minor Planet Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory ** ''Minor Planet Circulars'' (MPC, M.P.C. or MPCs), astronomical publication from the Minor ...

in September 1986). Karapetyan moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

where he founded a shoe company called "Second Breath". He regularly visits Armenia and the

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

. Karapetyan took part in the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

torch relay for the second stage of the run. He was passed the torch in Moscow and carried it towards Krasnogorsk. The next day, Karapetyan carried the torch for a second time. He stated in an interview, "I was carrying the torch for

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and for

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karapetyan, Shavarsh 1953 births Living people Soviet male swimmers Armenian male swimmers Sportspeople from Vanadzor 1976 in the Soviet Union Finswimmers Soviet Armenians Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR