Shavarsh Karapetyan

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Shavarsh Karapetyan in 2014

Shavarsh Vladimiri (Vladimirovich) Karapetyan (born May 19, 1953 ) is a former Armenian fin swimmer who, despite his records (11 world records) and championships (17-time world champion, 13-time European champion and 7-time USSR champion), is mainly because of this it became known to have saved the lives of 20 people in an accident in Yerevan in 1976 .

biography

Karapetyan was born in 1953 in Armenia's third largest city, Kirovakan, in what was then the Armenian Soviet Republic . His family moved to Yerevan in 1964 , where Shavarsh attended a technical school for auto mechanics after eighth grade . On the advice of his acquaintances, he began swimming training at that age, until he later switched to fin swimming. From 1975 to 1976 Karapetyan served in the Soviet Army in Baku .

Trolleybus accident in 1976

On September 16, 1976, the 23-year-old , who had already received the highest sports award in the Soviet Union , witnessed a trolleybus accident on Lake Yerevan together with his brother Kamo .

On the day he had just finished his 20 km run at the lake when a trolleybus of the municipal transport company got out of control and crashed over the tracks of a dam into the lake. The trolleybus, which was occupied by 92 people, sank to a depth of 10 meters. Despite severely reduced eyesight due to diving without glasses and rising silt at the bottom of the lake, Shavarsh was able to locate a window and at the same time was able to kick it underwater with his legs. In the end, he recovered more than 20 people, 20 of whom survived. He himself fell into a coma for 45 days during the rescue operation, during which he sustained serious cuts . The cut was followed by sepsis and lung complications due to the dirty sewage of the lake , which meant the end of his athletic career. Despite Soviet interest in reports of heroic deeds, the photos that existed in this connection were only published by the district attorney's office two years later. Shavarsh was finally awarded the Medal "For the Rescue of Drowning" and the Badge of Honor of the Soviet Union .

With the publication of the article “The Underwater Battle of a Champion” in Komsomolskaya Pravda on October 12, 1982, the incident became known and Shavarsh Karapetyan became prominent throughout the country . In total he received over 60,000 letters.

On February 19, 1985, Shavarsh saved lives again when a fire in a building trapped several people and he was able to rescue them. He suffered severe burns that forced him to stay in hospital for another long time.

He later moved to Moscow, where he opened a shoe store. From there he regularly visits Armenia and the Artsakh Republic .

In September 1986, the asteroid with the number 3027, discovered by Nikolai Tschernych at the Crimean Observatory and named after Shavarsh, was recognized by the Minor Planet Center .

From Moscow to Krasnogorsk he was a torch-bearer of the 2014 Winter Olympics .

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Minor Planet Circulars (MPC) 11159 September 18, 1986, retrieved October 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ Shavarsh Karapetyan: A Real Life Hero • Lazer Horse. In: Lazer Horse. July 18, 2013, accessed December 6, 2018 (American English).
  3. ↑ Биография Шаварша Карапетяна. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
  4. ↑ USSR Yearbook . The Agency, 1985 ( google.de [accessed December 6, 2018]).
  5. ^ Soviet Champion Saves 20 Lives, 1976 - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com. July 28, 2014, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b The Plunge «. Grantland.com, accessed December 11, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Renaissance Woman: Soviet Champion Saves 20 Lives, 1976. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Shavarsh Karapetyan: A Real Life Hero • Lazer Horse. In: Lazer Horse. July 18, 2013, accessed December 6, 2018 (American English).
  9. ↑ Շավարշ Կարապետյան. «Հայկական ֆուտբոլը» նոր տերմին է | NEWS.am Sport - Ամենը ՝ սպորտի մասին. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
  10. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. - Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. - B., Heidelberg, NY: Springer, 2003. - P. 249. - , ISBN 3-540-00238-3 .
  11. ↑ Олимпийский огонь потух во время пробега по Кремлю. October 6, 2013, Retrieved December 5, 2018 (American English).
  12. ↑ Շավարշ Կարապետյանը երկրորդ անգամ մասնակցել է Սոչիի Օլիմպիական խաղերի փոխանցումավազքին | NEWS.am Sport - Ամենը ՝ սպորտի մասին. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
  13. ^ International Fair Play Committee. October 12, 2013, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  14. ^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. Ed .: Lutz D. Schmadel. 5th edition. Springer Verlag , Berlin , Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7 , pp.  186 (English, 992 pp., Link.springer.com [ONLINE; accessed October 2, 2019] Original title: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . First edition: Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1992): “1978 PQ 2 . Discovered 1978 Aug. 8 by NS Chernykh at Nauchnyj. "
personal data
SURNAME Karapetyan, Shavarsh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Karapetyan, Shavarsh Vladimiri (Vladimirovich); Karapetyan, Shavarsh Vladimirovich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Armenian fin swimmer and lifesaver
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirovakan