Ashot Danielyan ( hy, Աշոտ Դանիելյան , born April 11, 1974, in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, Armenian SSR) is a retired

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

. Danielyan is a two-time European champion, having won consecutive gold medals at the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

and 2000 European Weightlifting Championships. He also came in 13th place at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He initially won a bronze medal in the men's super heavyweight (+105 kg) weight class at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, but was stripped of the medal and suspended following a positive

drug test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dr ...

. Danielyan would have been only the second Olympic medalist weightlifter from the independent Republic of Armenia, after

Arsen Melikyan Arsen Melikyan ( hy, Արսեն Մելիքյան, born May 17, 1976) is an Armenian weightlifter. Melikyan won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics by snatching 365 kg. He became the first Olympian from the independent Republ ...

, who won an Olympic medal just days earlier. He returned to win a silver medal at the 2003 European Weightlifting Championships and to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but did not finish the contest. After coming in second at the

2006 European Weightlifting Championships The 2006 in sports, 2006 European Weightlifting Championships were held in Władysławowo, Poland from 29 April to 7 May 2006. It was the 85th edition of the event, which was first staged in 1896. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Refere ...

, he was disqualified once again by doping and he retired. ;Career bests * Snatch: 215 kg * Clean and jerk: 262.5 kg * Total: 477.5 kg in 2001 at local competition in Armenia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danielyan, Ashot 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Yerevan Armenian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Armenia Weightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Doping cases in weightlifting Armenian sportspeople in doping cases Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals European champions in weightlifting European champions for Armenia European Weightlifting Championships medalists Ethnic Armenian sportspeople