Israel Militosyan ( hy, Իսրայել Միլիտոսյան, born 17 August 1968) is an
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 ''Ox ...
n former
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 lift ...
. He was awarded the
Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR
Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR (russian: Единая Всесоюзная спортивная классификация) is a document which provided general Soviet physical education system requirements for both athletes an ...
title in 1989.
Early life
Born in
Leninakan
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
,
Armenian SSR
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
(now
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
,
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 ''Ox ...
), a city famous for its world class weightlifters, Militosyan took up weightlifting in 1980 under the guidance of cousin
Vardan Militosyan
Vardan Militosyan ( hy, Վարդան Միլիտոսյան, 8 June 1950 – 29 April 2015) was a Soviet Armenian former weightlifter. He was awarded the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR title in 1976.
Early life
Born in Leninak ...
and joined the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
national team in 1987.
Career
Militosyan was one of the top weightlifters of his era. He made his Olympic debut at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
. He won a silver medal in the lightweight (67.5 kg) class with a total of 337.5 kg, only 2.5 kg behind gold medalist
Joachim Kunz
Joachim Kunz (born 9 February 1959) is a German weightlifter who competed for East Germany in the 1980 Summer Olympics and in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He was born in Stollberg.
At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow he won a silver medal in ...
. Despite the defeat, Militosyan set a new Olympic record in the snatch at 155 kg.
The following year, Militosyan became both a European and a World Champion by winning gold medal at the 1989
European Weightlifting Championships
European Weightlifting Championships is an annual event organised by the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF). It has been held since 1896. A separate event for women was held from 1988 to 1997, after which both championships have been held ...
and
1989 World Weightlifting Championships. At the World Weightlifting Championships in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Militosyan set the world record in the snatch at 158.5 kg and then, in his next lift, broke his own world record at 160 kg.
Militosyan would come in second to rival Yoto Yotov at the next three European Weightlifting Championships and at the
1991 World Weightlifting Championships. As such, Yotov was considered the gold medal favorite at the up-coming Olympics and Militosyan was expected to repeat his silver medal achievement.
Though the Soviet Union was disbanded, Militosyan and the other Soviet Olympians still competed together under the
Unified Team at the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. In the snatch, Militosyan lifted 155 kg, breaking his own previous Olympic record (150 kg), and lifted 182.5 kg in the clean and jerk, setting an Olympic total of 337.5 kg yet again and this time winning the Olympic gold medal, defeating silver medalist Yotov by 10 kg. To this day, Militosyan is the last Armenian weightlifter to become an Olympic Champion.
Following the 1992 Olympics, Militosyan began representing his native
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 ''Ox ...
.
Militosyan set the world record in the snatch for a third time in 1994 at the 1994 European Weightlifting Championships in Sokolov. the weight limit change. Militosyan is the first weightlifter from the independent Armenia to set a world record in weightlifting.
Militosyan represented Armenia in its Olympic debut 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, ...
, where he came in sixth place.
Militosyan retired from weightlifting in 1999 and later worked as a weightlifting coach in his hometown of
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
.
Personal life
Israel is a cousin and student of fellow Soviet-Armenian Olympic weightlifting medalist
Vardan Militosyan
Vardan Militosyan ( hy, Վարդան Միլիտոսյան, 8 June 1950 – 29 April 2015) was a Soviet Armenian former weightlifter. He was awarded the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR title in 1976.
Early life
Born in Leninak ...
. Vardan was the first Soviet-Armenian to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting, and Israel was the last.
References
External links
Israel Militosyan at Lift Up*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Militosyan, Israel
1968 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Gyumri
Armenian male weightlifters
Soviet male weightlifters
Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
Weightlifters at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Weightlifters at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Weightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic weightlifters of the Soviet Union
Olympic weightlifters of the Unified Team
Olympic weightlifters of Armenia
Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team
Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic medalists in weightlifting
Soviet Armenians
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
European Weightlifting Championships medalists
World Weightlifting Championships medalists