Date of birth: 08.08.1992, Yerevan
Sport: Gymnastics
Education: Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture
Personal coach: Hakob Serobyan
Family: Married, with a daughter
Photo: Mediamax
Debut: “My first senior-level tournament was the 2011 European Championship in Berlin. On the rings, I had an issue - the belt that was attached to my hand tore off and my jump was very painful. At that time, I was still quite weak as a gymnast.”
Becoming confident: “My coach made my believe in myself. He started making me work very hard and expecting more from me.”
Poor conditions: “We ourselves don’t know how we achieve such good results in such poor conditions. I think it is due to the coaches and our aspirations. Perhaps the desire is great, or perhaps we understand that we have no other option but to succeed.”
Photo: Mediamax
The birth of his daughter: “When my daughter was born, I was naturally very happy, but I fully realized the joy of fatherhood later, when she started growing up. Spending time with a kid changes your world.”
Photo: Mediamax
Hobby: “I love playing football and volleyball with teammates, friends, and with my brothers.”
The key achievement: “My key achievement is the gold medal of the European Championship. It was different from the previous tournaments in that my performance day was April 24 (Remembrance Day of the victims of the Armenian Genocide – Mediamax Sport) and I won my first gold in Europe. It was an exceptional moment, my gift to all Armenians.”
Photo: Mediamax
Idol: “I have never had idols, but Japanese athlete Kohei Uchimura is the best one in the history of gymnastics for me. He has won all World Championships and Olympic Games in 2 Olympic cycles in a row.”
His 3rd Olympics: “I never imagined that I would participate in 3 Olympic Games. It seems like the London Olympics took place just a few years ago - 9 years has passed very quickly. Everything should be different in Tokyo. I hope to go to my 4th games, especially given that they will be in 3 years from now.”
Goal: “I am training harder than ever, correcting all my mistakes. I believe I can win a medal.”
Photo: Mediamax
The postponed Games: “It was very convenient for me, to be honest, because I was injured and the postponement gave me time to recover.”
Tokyo: “We participated in the World Championship there in 2011. We were having dinner on the 45th floor and it seemed like we were above the clouds. The city was very beautiful, and I have to say, I was very impressed by the precision and order of the Japanese way of doing things.”
Photo: Mediamax
On Armenia’s Olympic team: “I really want us to win a lot of medals. Artur Aleksanyan can get a gold medal again; he is one of the leaders of our team. There are great hopes of gold for the weightlifters and wrestlers. I wish good luck to our team. The more medals we win, the higher we will keep the honor of our country. Everyone will be happy, especially after so many unfortunate events that we have gone through.”
Winner of 2021 European Championship
Winners of 2019 European Games
Bronze medalist of 2013 European Championship, silver medalist of 2016 European Championship
Hasmik Babayan
Photos: Emin Aristakesyan
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