Armenian freestyle wrestler Arsen Harutyunyan will go to the main tournament of the quadrennial for the second time in his career. In Paris, the 24-year-old athlete will represent Armenia in the up to 57 kg weight category. Arsen is considered one of the favorites in this weight category.
Arsen Harutyunyan is a four-time European champion, three-time world championship medalist and two-time world champion in the under-23 age category.
Arsen Harutyunyan's performance dates in Paris:
August 9 – repechage bouts, fights for bronze and the final.
In this article we will look at the path Arsen Harutyunyan took to get to the 2024 Olympic Games.
Arsen Harutyunyan was born on November 22, 1999 in the city of Masis. It was there that he began his first steps in wrestling at the age of 6 under the guidance of coach Arthur Martoyan. He is currently training at the Yerevan State Olympic Reserve Sports College under the guidance of personal trainer Arshak Hayrapetyan.
Arsen joined the senior Armenian national team in 2019, and in the same year became the European champion, starting a new page in his career.
Following the Tokyo Olympics, this period was an important stage in the career of Arsene, who gained valuable experience and became even stronger in preparation for the World Championships in Oslo, starting in October 2021, where he won his first senior medal.
At the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, Arsen competed in his favorite weight category up to 61 kg. In the 1/8 finals, he started the tournament confidently, defeating wrestler from Kazakhstan Adlan Askarov with a score of 18:10. In the quarter finals, he defeated the wrestler from Bahrain Alibek Alibekov with a score of 8:2. However, in the semi-finals, Arsen lost to a more prepared wrestler from the USA, Dayton Fix, with a score of 10:0. In the fight for the bronze medal, Arsen defeated the Indian Ravainder with a score of 10:0, winning the bronze medal at the World Championship.
World Championship 2021
1. Abasgadzhi Magomedov (Russia)
2. Dayton Fix (USA)
3. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
3. Toshihiro Hasegawa (Japan)
The next tournament for Arsen was the World Championship among wrestlers under 23 years old. Arsen entered this competition in excellent shape and demonstrated outstanding results. He competed in the weight category up to 61 kg.
In the qualifying round, Arsen confidently defeated Hungarian Gamzadgadzhi Khalidov with a score of 11:1. In the 1/8 finals, he also demonstrated a confident fight, defeating the German Nico Megrel with a score of 6:0. In the quarter finals, Arsen defeated the representative of Great Britain, Muhammad Mokaev, with a score of 10:0. In the semi-finals, he confidently defeated Kazakh Assil Aytakin with a score of 5:0. In the final, Arsen defeated the Russian representative Artur Chebodaev with a convincing score of 11:7.
Thus, Arsen became the world champion among wrestlers under 23 for the first time.
World Championship U23 2021
1. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
2. Artur Chebodaev (Russia)
3. Assil Aytakin (Kazakhstan)
3. Naranhuu Narmandakh (Mongolia)
The next significant tournament for Arsen was the European Championship, which he entered in excellent physical and mental shape.
He started the tournament with the 1/4 finals, where he confidently defeated the Macedonian Besir Alili with a score of 5:0. In the semi-finals, in a bitter struggle, he defeated the representative of Poland, Eduard Grigoriev, with a score of 13:8. And in the final, Arsen dealt with the Turk Suleiman Atli, winning with a score of 15:3. Thus, Arsen became the European champion for the first time in the weight category up to 61 kg among adults.
European Championship 2022
1. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
2. Suleiman Atli (Türkiye)
3. Georgiy Vangelov (Bulgaria)
3. Eduard Grigoriev (Poland)
The next tournament for Arsen was the World Championship in the under-23 age category. Arsen approached the tournament in excellent shape and successfully became a two-time world champion.
He started the tournament with a confident victory in the qualifying round over the Egyptian with a score of 10:0. In the 1/8 finals, Arsen also confidently defeated the Puerto Rican with a score of 11:0. In the quarter finals he defeated Kazakh Assil Aytakin with a score of 9:3, and in the semifinals he defeated Georgian Ramaz Turmanidze with a score of 13:4.
In the fight for the gold medal, in a bitter struggle, Arsen defeated Kyrgyz Tairbek Zhumashbek with a score of 7:5 and became a two-time world champion among wrestlers under 23 years old.
World Championship U23 2022
1. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
2. Tairbek Zhumashbek (Kyrgyzstan)
3. Assil Aytakin (Kazakhstan)
3. Emrah Ormanoglu (Türkiye)
In 2023, the first significant tournament for Arsen was the European Championship. He traveled to Croatia in search of another victory at continental level.
Arsen started the tournament with the 1/4 finals, where he defeated the Turk Emrah Ormanoglu with a score of 7:0. In the semi-finals, he defeated the Armenian playing for France, Arman Elolyan, with a score of 10:0. In the final, Arsen confidently defeated the Albanian wrestler Zelimkhan Abakarov with a score of 5:2 and again became the European champion.
European Championship 2023
1. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
2. Zelimkhan Abakarov (Albania)
3. Shota Partenadze (Georgia)
3. Emrah Ormanoglu (Türkiye)
The last tournament for Arsen in 2023 was the World Championship, which was extremely important, since the medalists of this tournament automatically received licenses for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Arsen started the tournament with the qualifying round, defeating the Ukrainian wrestler with a score of 14:3. In the 1/16 finals, he defeated the Italian Simon Piroddu with a score of 14:2. In the 1/8 finals, Arsen defeated the wrestler from Macedonia Vladimir Egorov with a score of 11:0.
In the quarter finals, Arsen again met with his long-time rival, Japanese Rei Higuchi. This time he showed a real fight, but, unfortunately, he failed to equalize the score and lost with a score of 16:14.
In the repechage bout, Arsen defeated the Chinese with a score of 10:0, and in the bout for bronze he defeated the Kazakh Meirambek Kartbay with a score of 11:0. As a result, he became a three-time medalist at the World Championships in the weight category up to 57 kg and automatically received a ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
World Championship 2023
1. Stefan Micic (Serbia)
2. Rei Higuchi (Japan)
3. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
3. Zelimkhan Abakarov (Albania)
The last major tournament for Arsen before the Olympic Games was the European Championship. He went there to prove that he has no equal in the weight category up to 57 kg.
Arsen started the tournament with the 1/4 finals, defeating the Ukrainian with a score of 10:0. In the semi-finals, he also confidently defeated the Azerbaijani with a score of 10:0. In the final, in less than a minute, Arsen defeated the Turk Muhammad Karavous and became the European champion in the weight category up to 57 kg.
European Championship 2024
1. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
2. Muhammad Karavus (Türkiye)
3. Roberti Dingashvili (Georgia)
3. Islam Bazarganov (Azerbaijan)
At the 2024 Olympic Games his main competitors will be Stefan Micic (Serbia), Rei Higuchi (Japan), Meirabek Kartbay (Kazakhstan), Zelimkhan Abakarov (Albania), Aman Aman (India) and Wanhao Zou (China) and Gulomjon Abdullaev
Considering all the previous results before the Olympics, we can say with confidence that Arsen will definitely fight for medals. At the draw, he will be seeded 3rd and will meet his main competitors at the semi-final stage, where his opponent could be Rei Higuchi (Japan).
