Armenia has won a medal for the first time in the history of the Para Skiing competition
Garik Melkonyan, a para skier representing Armenia, has won a bronze medal for the first time in history at an international ranking competition held in Norway. He completed the 10 km classic style race and secured third place.
In an interview with AMNEWS, the president of the Armenian Ski Federation, Gagik Sargsyan, mentioned that this achievement was both expected and unexpected for them.
There are different classifications based on disability: seated, standing, with a fully or partially amputated arm or leg, and so on. We have had participants from Armenia in the seated category, meaning with leg amputations or partial amputations of one leg, but we have never had anyone in the standing category. This is Armenia’s first medal in para skiing.
In the near future, Garik Melkonyan will continue his training in Ashotsk, preparing for the World University Winter Games that will take place in January. By the way, para skiing will be included in the Student Games for the first time, and Garik will represent Armenia. The World Cup and World Championship competitions are scheduled to take place in Norway in February-March.
It should be noted that this is still the preparatory period for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
Currently, Garik Melkonyan is the only athlete representing Armenia, but if there are athletes with the appropriate functional and physical training who are capable of participating in such competitions, naturally, everything will be done to enable them to take part.
Sargsyan adds that they do not receive any funding, and according to him, funding is not expected in 2025 either, which is unfortunate.