Stepan SARKISYAN

Armenian Stepan Sargsyan, who competed as a featherweight freestyler his entire career, took up wrestling in 1976 and made the Soviet national team in 1984, after winning the 1981 World Junior Championships. Sargsyan's best year was probably 1988, when he won an Olympic silver medal, the European title and his only Soviet title. Sargsyan also won the World Cup in 1984, 1987 and 1989, silver at the 1990 Goodwill Games and was sixth at the 1989 World Championships. Domestically, in addition to his 1988 Soviet title, Sargsyan won silver in 1989 and bronze in 1984, 1987 and 1990. Sargsyan retired from sports after the fall of the Soviet Union and later worked as a sports official in his native Armenia. From 1998-2002 Sargsyan was president of the Armenian Wrestling Federation and, in 2002, was made honorary president of the Armenian Wrestling Federation. Since 1996, an annual freestyle wrestling tournament in his honor has been held in Vanadzor, Armenia.