Hrachya Petikyan ( hy, Հրաչյա Պետիկյան , born 23 February 1960) 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 ' ...

sports shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...

and USSR, European, four-time World and Olympic Champion. Petikyan is a four-time Olympian who has represented three nations: the

Soviet Union 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, ...

, the Unified Team and the

Republic of Armenia A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. He has been awarded the Honored Master of Sport of the USSR title. Petikyan started shooting in the

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 ...

dynamo sports club under the honored coach of Armenia, Martyn Kalechyan. For many years, Petikyan was a member of the USSR national team and a Champion of Europe and the World in individual and team competitions. He has also won many medals at ISSF world competitions that are now discontinued. 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 ...

, competing as a Soviet, Petikyan participated in the

10 metre air rifle 10 metre air rifle (N.B. For "Meter" in this article – read "Metre") is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of using a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of . It ...

and the 50 metre rifle, three positions. He notably came in sixth place in the latter. Petikyan was entrusted with carrying the Armenian flag 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 ...

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 ...

. He won the gold medal in the

50 metre rifle three positions 50 meter rifle three positions (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an International Shooting Sport Federation event, a miniature version of 300 meter rifle three positions. It consists of the kneeling, prone, and standing ...

and set the Olympic record at 1,267.4 in the finals. He also came in eighth place in the

50 metre rifle prone 50 meter rifle prone (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an International Shooting Sport Federation event consisting of 60 shots from the prone position with a .22 Long Rifle (5.6 mm) caliber rifle. The time limit is ...

, meaning he had ranked in the top eight of every rifle competition at the Olympics. Petikyan now began representing his native Armenia. He competed for Armenia 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, ...

and

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 ...

, each in his specialty, the men's 50 metre rifle three positions. However, he was unable to qualify for the finals at either Olympics. In 1997, he headed the Armenian Shooting Federation and junior sports school for shooting in Armenia. In 2007, Petikyan participated in the ceremony to light the fire for the IV

Pan-Armenian Games The Pan-Armenian Games ( hy, Համահայկական խաղեր) are a multi-sport event, held between competitors from the Armenian diaspora and Armenia. They consist of various competitions in individual and team sports among the Armenian athle ...

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petikyan, Hrachya 1960 births Living people Sportspeople from Yerevan Armenian male sport shooters Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Shooters at the 1988 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic shooters of the Soviet Union Olympic shooters of the Unified Team Olympic shooters of Armenia Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Olympic medalists in shooting Soviet Armenians Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Armenian sports executives and administrators Ethnic Armenian sportspeople