Mnatsakan Iskandaryan
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| Born |
17 May 1967 (age 48) Leninakan, Armenian SSR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Greco-Roman wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | KSV Witten 07, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mnatsakan Iskandaryan (Armenian: Մնացական Իսկանդարյան, born 17 May 1967) is a former Greco-Roman wrestler of Armenian descent who competed for the Soviet Union and Russia. He earned the rank Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1991 and was named Honoured Coach of Russia in 2000. In 2012, Iskandaryan was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame and was the sole Greco-Roman inductee. He is the second Armenian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, after Armen Nazaryan.[1]
Biography
Mnatsakan Iskandaryan started Greco-Roman wrestling in 1978 under the guidance of Koryun Movsesian. In 1987, he became a Youth World Champion. Iskandaryan became a member of the USSR national Greco-Roman wrestling team in 1988. In that same year, he won a gold medal at the FILA Wrestling World Cup team competition. Iskandaryan remained a member of the Soviet national team until the Union's fall in 1991. He won a silver medal in the 1989 European Championships. In 1990, he moved to a heavier weight class, from lightweight (68 kg) to welterweight (74 kg), and won a 1990 World Championship gold medal. In 1991, Iskandaryan became a European Champion and two-time consecutive World Champion. He repeated the European success by winning a 1992 European CHampionships gold medal for a consecutive second time. Ranked as the number one wrestler in his division for the past few years, Iskandaryan entered the 1992 Summer Olympics as the gold medal favorite.
Although Iskandaryan's home of Armenia was now independent, all of the former Soviet Olympians still competed together at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, under the Unified Team. Iskandaryan had single-handedly defeated all of his opposition, and thus claimed the Olympic gold medal and became an Olympic Champion.
Iskandaryan underwent over two years of inactivity following his Olympic victory. He finally returned, now serving under the Russian flag, at the 1994 Wrestling World Championships, where he claimed his third World Championship gold medal. Iskandaryan competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was unable to win a medal and came in fifth place. Iskandaryan retired from wrestling after the 1996 Olympics and started coaching. As of 1996, he is the head coach of the youth wrestling team of Russia.[2]
References
- ↑ "Lutte Gréco-Romaine". www.fila-official.com. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ↑ "Mnatsakan Iskandaryan to be included in FILA Hall of Fame". sport.news.am. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
External links
- "Mnatsakan Iskandaryan". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
- Interview (in Russian)
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