World Cup Gold Medalist Greta Vardanyan Took Out a Loan to Go to Dubai for the Games

36-year-old Greta Vardanyan recently won the champion title at the World Cup championship held in Dubai, returning home with two gold medals. “I took first place in the personal competition in the 55 kg weight category, and in the 55 and 61 kg categories, I also won another gold medal based on the results of three attempts,” Greta told Azatutyun.

Greta was the only athlete representing Armenia in Dubai, although she mentioned that two other athletes with disabilities could have participated and won medals. However, she had to go into debt to attend: “Honestly, I want all Armenians to know that we went to these competitions in debt. Approximately one and a half million. I arrived at the competitions two days late because we were scrambling to find the funds. We missed the opening ceremony and also the closing ceremony because every night the hotel cost a lot.”

Today, cash awards were presented to the athletes from Gyumri at the city hall. Mayor Vardges Samsonyan said he was unaware that Greta had gone to the World Cup in debt: “We didn't know. Naturally, in previous occasions they have applied, and we have helped to that extent, but this time we were not aware. It is very pleasing for us that they went and brought another medal for our country, for our city. We will try to help within our financial means.”

Greta lost both of her legs in the 1988 earthquake when she was just two years old. They had just moved into a new apartment two days before the disaster struck, and it collapsed during the first tremors, killing her parents and leaving her with a disability.

However, her disability has not prevented Greta from being involved in sports from a young age. She initially practiced wheelchair racing, then alpine skiing, and is now engaged in weightlifting. She has participated in various international competitions.

Greta states that the Ministry of Sports does not view their newly established weightlifting federation for people with disabilities equally. The ministry provided a small amount of funding for participation in the European Championship held in Georgia several months ago, while the rest was covered by individual benefactors: “Our National Paralympic Committee was able to find individual sponsors to provide a little sports nutrition for me and Svetlana, so that we could achieve higher accomplishments through those vitamins and additional nutrition.”

Greta is disheartened by the disparity, saying, “It hurts that the same athlete participating in the same event receives a higher amount of support, but that same athlete competing in a Paralympic sport returns home with gold and bronze medals, but with half the financial support. We want our Paralympic sport and our disabled sports to be valued equally by our government and leaders.”

There are 13 athletes engaged in disabled weightlifting within the federation, three of whom have won medals. When they have previously applied for government financial assistance, they received responses like: “If you go out, you won't bring medals back; these are just financial expenses... But we prove with every step that we go with the expectation of returning with medals.”

For several months now, they have also moved their training sessions to a more comfortable gym with the necessary equipment, thanks to the help of individual benefactors. Greta's coach is her husband, who returns home from military duty. The head coach is working abroad. Greta is raising two children and aims to compete and win medals at the Paris Paralympic Games scheduled for this year.