Armenia at the 1994 Winter Olympics

Armenia sent a delegation to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway from 12–27 February 1994. This was Armenia's first time competing at the Winter Olympic Games as an independent nation. The Armenian delegation consisted of two bobsledders, the Armenian-Americans Ken Topalian and Joe Almasian. They competed as a team in the two-man competition, where they finished in 36th place.

Armenia at the
1994 Winter Olympics
IOC codeARM
NOCNational Olympic Committee of Armenia
Websitewww.armnoc.am (in Armenian)
in Lillehammer
Competitors2 in 1 sport
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Russian Empire (1900–1912)
 Soviet Union (1952–1988)
 Unified Team (1992)

Background

Armenia became an independent nation again following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[1] The National Olympic Committee of Armenia was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 31 December 1992.[2] The Lillehammer games were Armenia's first as an independent nation, they have gone on to participate in every Summer and Winter Olympics since.[3] The 1994 Winter Olympics were held from 12–27 February 1994, a total of 1,737 athletes took part, representing 67 National Olympic Committees.[4] The Armenian delegation to Lillehammer consisted of two bobsledders, Ken Topalian and Joe Almasian.[5]

Bobsleigh
Main article: Bobsleigh at the 1994 Winter Olympics

Ken Topalian was 30 years old at the time of the Lillehammer Games, and is from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.[6] Joe Almasian was 26 years old at the time, and was born in Framingham, Massachusetts.[7] They were friends through the Armenian Youth League, neither had ever been to Armenia.[6] The two-man bobsleigh competition was held over two days, 19–20 February, with two runs being held on each day; the sum of all four run times was used to determine final placement.[8] On the first day, the Armenian sled posted times of 54.85 seconds[9] and 55.03 seconds.[10] Overnight, they were in 37th place out of 43 competing teams.[11] The next day, their run times were 54.92 seconds[12] and 55.01 seconds[13] This made their total time for the competition 3 minutes and 39.81 seconds, which put them in 36th position.[8] The gold and silver medals were won by Swiss sleds, and the bronze was taken by an Italian team.[8]


Athlete Event Final
Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Run 4 Total Rank
Joe Almasian
Ken Topalian		 Two-man 54.85 55.03 54.92 55.01 3:39.81 36

References
  1. "Armenia – Countries – Office of the Historian". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. "Armenia – National Olympic Committee (NOC)". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. "Armenia". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  4. "Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. "Armenia at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. "Ken Topalian Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  7. "Joe Almasian Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  8. "Bobsleigh at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's Two". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. "Bobsleigh at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's Two Run 1". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  10. "Bobsleigh at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's Two Run 2". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  11. "Bobsleigh at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's Two Runs 1–2". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  12. "Bobsleigh at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's Two Run 3". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  13. "Bobsleigh at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's Two Run 4". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
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