Armenian athlete Allison Halverson became the world champion in the women's decathlon. The 31-year-old athlete took first place at the inaugural Women's Decathlon World Championship held in Ohio.
Allison was supposed to be the only representative of Armenia in athletics at the Paris Olympic Games. However, for unknown reasons, the Armenian Olympic Committee did not include her in the national team. Instead, Yervand Mkrtchyan was sent to the Olympics.
During the Olympics, Allison participated in another competition where she set a world record in the 100-meter dash for the decathlon (11.92 seconds), as well as several national records for Armenia: in pole vault, in the 100-meter hurdles, and in the overall decathlon score.
Allison Halverson scored 7,236 points, surpassing competitors from France and the USA.
Allison Halverson has Armenian roots and began competing for the Armenian national team in 2023, although she had been waiting for this opportunity for more than four years. The process of changing her sports citizenship with World Athletics was delayed. When she finally received the right to represent Armenia, she participated in various tournaments, including the Armenian Championship. As a result, Allison earned an Olympic license, specifically a "white card," which is granted to the sole representative from a country without other athletics quotas for the Olympics. Until the last moment, it was expected that Allison Halverson would go to the Olympics, but it was decided that the only quota would be given to runner Yervand Mkrtchyan. It should be noted that Yervand also deserved it: he had undergone excellent preparation for the Olympics, won several regional international tournaments, and set several Armenian records.
In the end, Yervand competed in Paris in the 800 meters and set a new Armenian record, finishing 51st out of 53 participants.