Wrestling (Armenian: ըմբշամարտ, in Armenian pronounced as /əmbʃɑmɑɾt/) has deep historical roots in Armenia.[1] [2] Wrestling was practiced in the Armenian Highlands since ancient times. Armenians have their own variant of the sport called Kokh. It was recorded that King Tiridates III of Armenia won the Ancient Olympic Games in wrestling in 281 AD. During the Soviet era, wrestling became one of the most practiced sports in Armenia and remained popular after Armenia's independence in 1991. Armenian athletes have been successful at international competitions in the last two decades. Many have become World and European champions, both in Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling. Over half of the fifteen Armenian Olympic medalists and the two gold medal winners have been wrestlers. The sport is overseen by the Wrestling Federation of Armenia.
At the 265th Olympiad (281 AD) the Armenian King Tiridates III (286–342 AD), who in 301 AD adopted Christianity as the state religion, making Armenia the first Christian nation, became an Olympic Champion in wrestling.[3] [4]
Kokh (Armenian: [[:hy:Կոխ|Կոխ]]) is the Armenian national wrestling,[5] [6] known since the Early Middle Ages. It's considered to be one of the oldest forms of wrestling.[5] It had influenced the Soviet martial sport Sambo.[7]
The winner is the one who throws the opponent on the mat without boosting and/or turning him. Pushing the opponent out of the mat, which has a radius of 7–9 meters,[8] also results in winning. A Kokh fight usually lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. The Kokh fights are often accompanied with Armenian folk music and before the beginning of a fight wrestlers do folk dances.[5]
Two varieties of Kokh are Lori Kokh and Shirak Kokh. The main difference between two styles is between the clothing. In Shirak Kokh, wrestlers wear shalvar pants and are topless and were allowed to grab the legs of the opponent. In Lori Kokh, they wear chokha (traditional Caucasian costume) and have to grab the opponent's dress to throw or push them out. Until the late 1980s, Kokh was practiced in rural areas of Armenia, although no professional Kokh athletes existed. Today, about 700 children in Armenia practice Kokh.[9]
Sports in general and wrestling, particularly, became popular in Armenia in the 1920s and 1930s, but it wasn't until the end of the World War II, when Armenian and Soviet athletes started to appear on international competitions. Sargis Vardanyan became the Soviet champion of Greco-Roman wrestling twice, in 1940 and 1944. In later years, Armenian Greco-Roman wrestlers had significant role in Soviet wrestling. Notable ones included Ruben Karapetyan (1969 first junior world champion), Artem Teryan (First wrestling Olympic medalist), Suren Nalbandyan (1976 Olympic champion), Sanasar Oganisyan (1980 Olympic champion), Norayr Musheghian (1958 World Champion), Benur Pashayan (1982 and 1983 World Champion), Levon Julfalakyan (1986 World Champion), Mnatsakan Iskandaryan (1990, 1991, 1994 World Champion).[10]
The Federation of Freestyle Wrestling of Armenia and the Federation of Greco-Roman Wrestling Federation were founded in 1992 and were merged in 1996 forming the Wrestling Federation of Armenia. It is the national governing body of the sport in the country.[11] According to Razmik Stepanyan, secretary of the Armenian Olympic Committee, as of 2009, there were 25 wrestling schools in 10 provinces of Armenia, 304 coaches and 7,454 athletes practicing wrestling.[12] [13]
In 2021, government statistics showed 7,800 wrestlers in Armenia, including 4,000 in freestyle wrestling and 3,800 Greco-Roman wrestling. There were over 700 coaches and trainers in both. A little more than 1,000 people practiced Sambo and 126 practiced Kokh.[14]
See also: Armenia at the Olympics and Wrestling at the Summer Olympics. 9 of the 18 Olympic medals of Armenia are from wrestling.
| Games | Athlete | Style and weight | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1996 Atlanta | Greco-Roman 52 kg | |||
| 1996 Atlanta | Freestyle 48 kg | |||
 2008 Beijing | Greco-Roman 55 kg | |||
| 2008 Beijing | Greco-Roman 120 kg | |||
| 2012 London | Greco-Roman 74 kg | |||
| 2012 London | Greco-Roman 96 kg | |||
 2016 Rio | Greco-Roman 66 kg | |||
| 2016 Rio | Greco-Roman 98 kg | |||
 2020 Tokyo | Greco-Roman 97 kg | |||
 2024 Paris | Greco-Roman 97 kg | |||
| 2024 Paris | Greco-Roman 77 kg | |||
See also: World Wrestling Championships.
| Year | Athlete | Weight | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1993 Stockholm | 52 kg | |||
| 1993 Stockholm | 57 kg | |||
 1995 Prague | 52 kg | |||
| 1995 Prague | 62 kg | |||
 1997 Wrocław | 54 kg | |||
| 2001 Patras | 58 kg | |||
| 2001 Patras | 63 kg | |||
 2007 Baku | 120 kg | |||
| 2009 Herning | 55 kg | |||
 2010 Moscow | 55 kg | |||
| 2010 Moscow | 74 kg | |||
| 2010 Moscow | 120 kg | |||
 2011 Istanbul | 74 kg | |||
 2013 Budapest | 55 kg | |||
| 2013 Budapest | 74 kg | |||
| 2013 Budapest | 96 kg | |||
 2014 Tashkent | 75 kg | |||
| 2014 Tashkent | 98 kg | |||
| 2015 Las Vegas | 98 kg | |||
| 2017 Paris | 80 kg | |||
| 2017 Paris | 98 kg | |||
| 2018 Budapest | 82 kg | |||
| 2018 Budapest | 87 kg | |||
 2019 Nur-Sultan | 63 kg | |||
| 2019 Nur-Sultan | 97 kg | |||
 2021 Oslo | 72 kg | |||
 2022 Belgrade | 97 kg | |||
| 2022 Belgrade | 77 kg | |||
| 2023 Belgrade | 77 kg | |||
| 2023 Belgrade | 97 kg | |||
| Year | Athlete | Weight | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 Atlanta | 48 kg | |||
| 1995 Atlanta | 68 kg | |||
| 1997 Krasnoyarsk | 69 kg | |||
 1998 Tehran | 69 kg | |||
| 2002 Tehran | 60 kg | |||
| 2005 Budapest | 60 kg | |||
| 2006 Guangzhou | 120 kg | |||
| 2013 Budapest | 66 kg | |||
| 2017 Paris | 97 kg | |||
| 2017 Paris | 125 kg | |||
| 2021 Oslo | 61 kg | |||
| 2022 Belgrade | 61 kg | |||
| 2023 Belgrade | 57 kg | |||
| 2023 Belgrade | 65 kg | |||
| 2023 Belgrade | 70 kg | |||
See also: European Wrestling Championships.
| Year | Athlete | Weight | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 Istanbul | Arayik Gevorgyan | 68 kg | ||
 1994 Rome | Armen Mkrtchyan | 48 kg | ||
| 1994 Rome | Anushavan Sahakyan | 57 kg | ||
| 1994 Rome | Araik Baghdadyan | 62 kg | ||
| 1994 Rome | Arayik Gevorgyan | 68 kg | ||
| 1995 Fribourg | Arayik Gevorgyan | 68 kg | ||
| 1996 Budapest | Armen Mkrtchyan | 48 kg | ||
| 1996 Budapest | Arayik Gevorgyan | 68 kg | ||
| 1997 Warsaw | Arayik Gevorgyan | 69 kg | ||
| 1998 Bratislava | Arayik Gevorgyan | 76 kg | ||
| 2001 Budapest | Armen Mkrtchyan | 54 kg | ||
| 2003 Riga | Mahmed Aghaev | 84 kg | ||
| 2004 Ankara | Martin Berberyan | 55 kg | ||
| 2006 Moscow | Ruslan Kokaev | 74 kg | ||
| 2006 Moscow | Vadim Laliev | 84 kg | ||
| 2006 Moscow | Shamil Gitinov | 96 kg | ||
| 2007 Sofia | Shamil Gitinov | 96 kg | ||
| 2009 Vilnius | Zhirayr Hovhannisyan | 66 kg | ||
| 2009 Vilnius | Edgar Yenokyan | 96 kg | ||
| 2009 Vilnius | Ruslan Basiev | 120 kg | ||
| 2011 Dortmund | Musa Murtazaliev | 74 kg | ||
| 2012 Belgrade | David Safaryan | 66 kg | ||
 2013 Tbilisi | David Safaryan | 66 kg | ||
| 2013 Tbilisi | Musa Murtazaliev | 84 kg | ||
 2014 Vantaa | Garik Barseghyan | 57 kg | ||
 2021 Skopje | Razmik Papikyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2014 Vantaa | Musa Murtazaliev | 86 kg | ||
| 2017 Novi Sad | Valodya Frangulyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2017 Novi Sad | Grigor Grigoryan | 74 kg | ||
| 2017 Novi Sad | Levan Berianidze | 125 kg | ||
| 2019 Bucharest | Arsen Harutyunyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2020 Rome | Arsen Harutyunyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2021 Warsaw | Arman Andreasyan | 70 kg | ||
| 2022 Budapest | Manvel Khndzrtsyan | 57 kg | ||
| 2022 Budapest | Arsen Harutyunyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2022 Budapest | Arman Andreasyan | 70 kg | ||
| 2023 Zagreb | Arsen Harutyunyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2023 Zagreb | Vazgen Tevanyan | 65 kg | ||
| 2024 Bucharest | Arsen Harutyunyan | 57 kg | ||
| 2024 Bucharest | Mezhlum Mezhlumyan | 61 kg | ||
| 2024 Bucharest | Arman Andreasyan | 70 kg | ||
See also: Wrestling World Cup.
| Year | Position | Style | Member athletes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Clermont-Ferrand | Greco-Roman | |||
 2010 Yerevan | Greco-Roman | 55 kg: Roman Amoyan & Harutyun Hovhannisyan 60 kg: Artak Harutyunyan & Vahan Juharyan 66 kg: Arman Adikyan & Hovhannes Varderesyan 74 kg: Varsham Boranyan & Arsen Julfalakyan 84 kg: Denis Forov & Tigran Sahakyan 96 kg: Arman Geghamyan & Sargis Tonoyan 120 kg: Yury Patrikeyev & Vachik Yeghiazaryan | ||