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 ...

), 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 ...

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 ...

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

. 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

Personal life

Israel is a cousin and student of fellow Soviet-Armenian Olympic weightlifting medalist

. 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