Paris 2024: Armenia's Olympic Weightlifting Team Includes 15 Athletes

The 33rd Summer Olympic Games will kick off in the capital of France, Paris, on July 26. The Armenian team comprises 15 athletes, including 3 weightlifters.

Andranik Karapetyan was born on December 15, 1995, in the village of Haytagh, Armavir province. He competes in the 89 kg weight category. This will be his second participation in the Olympic Games.

Karapetyan is a bronze medalist at the World Championships, European Champion, and a silver and double bronze medalist. Before the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, he competed in the 77 kg weight category. In 2015, he won bronze medals at both the World and European Championships, and in 2016, he was crowned European Champion.

At the 31st Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Karapetyan suffered a severe injury, breaking his elbow. After surgery and lengthy rehabilitation, the Armenian weightlifter returned to the platform in 2017 in a new 89 kg weight category, which is Olympic. In 2017, he became a silver medalist at the World Universiade and a bronze medalist at the World Cup.

He secured a bronze medal at the 2021 European Championships and a small silver medal in the snatch at the 2022 European Championships. At the 2023 European Championships held in Yerevan, Karapetyan claimed the title of vice-champion in the total with a result of 374 kg (178+196). He set a senior European record in the snatch with a lift of 178 kg and earned a small gold medal.

Andranik Karapetyan will compete on August 9 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Garik Karapetyan was born on June 11, 2003, in Gyumri. He competes in the 102 kg weight category and is participating in the Olympic Games for the first time.

In 2023, at the European Weightlifting Championships held in Yerevan, he was crowned European Champion in the total with a result of 392 kg (178+214 kg), setting several world and European records. The Armenian weightlifter earned a small gold medal in the snatch with 178 kg, establishing a European junior record, and became a small silver medalist in the clean and jerk with 214 kg.

In 2022 and 2023, Karapetyan was also declared the champion of the European U20 Championships, a small bronze medalist and record holder at the World Championships, a champion of the U20 World Championships, and in 2024 became a bronze medalist at the European Championship and a silver medalist at the World Cup.

Garik Karapetyan is also a European Champion among youths (2018), a World Championship vice-champion (2019), and a double winner of the Junior World Championships (2021, 2022).

He will compete on August 10 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Varazdat Lalayan was born on May 1, 1999, in Gyumri. He competes in the +102 kg weight category and is participating in the Olympic Games for the first time.

In 2024, Lalayan achieved the title of European Champion for the first time in his career and also became a winner of the World Cup. He was crowned European Champion with a total of 455 kg. He also earned small gold medals in the snatch and clean and jerk with lifts of 205 and 250 kg, respectively.

At the World Cup, Lalayan achieved a total of 463 kg (210+253 kg), winning a gold medal. In separate lifts, he also achieved small gold medals, lifting 210 kg in the snatch and 253 kg in the clean and jerk.

Lalayan is also a silver medalist at the European Youth Championships (2016), a vice-champion at the European Youth Championships (2019), a gold medalist at the U20 World Championships (2019), a winner and record holder at the European U20 Championships (2019), a bronze medalist at the European Championships (2021), a winner and record holder at the European U23 Championships (2021), a silver medalist and record holder at the World Championships (2021), and a vice-champion at the European Championships among seniors (2022), and a champion and record holder at the European U23 Championships (2022).

In 2023, he claimed the title of vice-champion at both the World and European Championships.

Varazdat Lalayan will compete on August 10 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.