23 Facts About Armen Nazaryan

Armen Nazaryan is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler who later represented Bulgaria.

Armen Nazaryan was recognized by the FILA as the best wrestler of the year in 1998 and 2003.

In 2007, Armen Nazaryan was inducted as a member of the FILA Hall of Fame.

Armen Nazaryan started wrestling at the age of eight under the coaching of Robert Nersesyan and entered the Yerevan Sports School in 1987.

In 1993, Armen Nazaryan became an Espoir World Wrestling Champion and won a silver medal at the senior 1993 World Wrestling Championships.

Already a decorated sportsman, Armen Nazaryan was one of the gold medal favorites of the competition in his weight class.

Armen Nazaryan won a landslide victory in all five fights, defeating reigning World Wrestling Champion Samvel Danielyan, who defeated Nazaryan at the 1995 World Championships final, in the quarterfinals and home country favorite Brandon Paulson in the finals.

Armen Nazaryan was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year for 1996.

Over a year later, Nazaryan became a citizen of Bulgaria and began participating in international competitions for this country instead of his native Armenia.

Armen Nazaryan became a European Wrestling Champion in 1998 and 1999 in this new weight class.

Armen Nazaryan had been unable to win a World Wrestling Championship, coming in third place at every World Championship leading up to the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Armen Nazaryan had lost his European Championship in 2000, just months before the Olympics that year.

Armen Nazaryan quickly got on top of In-Sub and both men were ordered to get up by the referee.

Armen Nazaryan then scored another takedown by lifting up In-Sub and turning him over and then scored an exposure by pinning In-Sub to the mat and finishing him via fall.

Armen Nazaryan had a very successful 2002 and 2003, becoming a World Wrestling Champion and European Wrestling Champion in both years.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Armen Nazaryan was defeated by eventual Olympic gold medalist Jung Ji-Hyun in the semifinals.

Armen Nazaryan did defeat Aleksey Shevtsov in the bronze medal match to win the Olympic bronze medal, Armen Nazaryan's third and final Olympic medal.

Armen Nazaryan next competed at the 2006 World Wrestling Championships, where he was defeated in the first round in a poor performance.

In 2007, Armen Nazaryan was inducted as a member of the FILA Hall of Fame.

Armen Nazaryan made a comeback at the 2008 European Wrestling Championships, where he came in second place, thus qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

However, after receiving an injury, Armen Nazaryan was forced to abandon any hopes of returning to the Olympics.

On 23 November 2012, Armen Nazaryan became the head coach of the Bulgarian national Greco-Roman wrestling team.

Armen Nazaryan was named the Coach of the year in Bulgaria for 2013.