Photos and medals remind us of the legendary gymnast Hrant Shahinyan whose 100th anniversary is marked this year. Hrant Shahinyan was the first Armenian champion of the Olympic games of new times.
In 1941, the young gymnast’s successful career was interrupted by the Great Patriotic War. Being almost 18, Shahinyan went to the front as a volunteer. He returned from the war with a wounded leg. After a long recovery period, in 1946, he restarted trainings.
At the Olympic Games of 1952 in Helsinki he won two gold medals at once and became Olympic champion. He was strong particularly at rings and horse exercises. Shahinyan’s trick performed for the first time was later named after him.
Dur to Shaninyan’s efforts the first school of gymnastics was set up in Yerevan and today it bears his name. As his friends marked, Hrant used to say that he had 500+2 children. Hrant Shahinyan was not only an Olympic champion but also a coach for generations.