Armenian Weightlifters Bring Home 13 Medals — 7 Gold, 3 Silver, 3 Bronze

The final group of Armenian weightlifters returned home on Thursday after completing their competitions at the European Junior and U23 Weightlifting Championships held in Durrës, Albania. The Armenian Report was at Zvartnots International Airport to welcome the athletes and speak with them about their victories and future goals.

Armenia finished the championship with an impressive 13 medals in total — 7 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze — it’s one of the country’s strongest team performances in recent years.

In the team standings, the Armenian women’s team ranked 5th, the junior team took 4th place, and the U-23 men’s team achieved 2nd place overall. The best lifters of the entire championship were Armenia’s own Aleksandra Grigoryan and Tigran Karapetyan, whose outstanding performances stood out among all participants.

Gold medalist Ashot Movsisyan told The Armenian Report, "The team was ready for all this, it's true, we could have achieved better, higher results, we had three boys' champions from our U-23 team and one from the youth team, I think the coaches were also satisfied, but I think we could have done more, we had prepared better, my injuries didn't hinder us that much during the competition, I think there could have been more, we did as much as we could, we invested all our strength and it worked out."

Coach Kristine Petrosyan also expressed her satisfaction with the team’s performance in an interview with The Armenian Report, saying, "I am very pleased with the girls, we had 8 big and small golds and three bronzes, just our Meri Tumasyan could not fight for a medal, which saddened us and the team because she had an injury. I am very pleased with Aleksandra, she performed quite well and lifted new kilograms and also set a record with the overall result, I am pleased with Emma Poghosyan after the injury and was very depressed physically and mentally and was able to gather herself and perform well, we are also very proud, very happy. We have injuries, everyone needs to be treated, then prepare for the upcoming European Championships for adults. At the moment, all of us have a goal to go to the Olympic Games without injuries."

Among those who returned was Meri Tumasyan, who finished fourth in her category. She told The Armenian Report, "I'm a little unhappy with the results, I could have done more, I could have won a medal in the push-up. I had wrist and back injuries that made it difficult to lift more."

Despite injuries and tough competition, the Armenian athletes’ determination brought remarkable results and strengthened the nation’s standing in European weightlifting. The team now looks ahead to recovery, training, and preparation for the European Adult Championships and, ultimately, the Olympic Games.

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