Historic Success! Armenia Finishes Third in Men's Medal Standings at the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
- Author: Vahe Hakobyan
- Sportaran
Armenia's artistic gymnastics team finished third in the men's medal standings at the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Armenian gymnasts claimed four medals — two gold and two bronze — finishing behind only China and Japan in the final rankings.
What makes this achievement particularly remarkable is that all four gymnasts representing Armenia at the World Championships returned home with medals. Every member of the Armenian team reached the podium, while two were crowned world champions.
Four Medals and Several Historic Achievements
Hamlet Manukyan — Gold on Pommel Horse (15.300 points)
The 19-year-old gymnast became the first athlete from independent Armenia to win a world title on the pommel horse. Manukyan finished ahead of Italy's Gabriele Targhetta (15.233) and his compatriot Mamikon Khachatryan (15.000).
Artur Davtyan — Gold on Vault (14.850 points)
The 34-year-old gymnast claimed his second world title, repeating his success from 2022. Davtyan became the first two-time artistic gymnastics world champion in the history of independent Armenia.
He also set a historic age record, becoming the oldest world champion in the history of men's artistic gymnastics.
Mamikon Khachatryan — Bronze on Pommel Horse (15.000 points)
The 19-year-old Armenian gymnast delivered an outstanding performance but finished third in an exceptionally competitive final. A year earlier, the same score would have been enough to win the world title.
As a result, two Armenian gymnasts shared the podium in the pommel horse final.
Artur Avetisyan — Bronze on Still Rings (14.233 points)
The 28-year-old gymnast secured independent Armenia's first-ever World Championships medal on the still rings.
For Avetisyan, this achievement marked a successful conclusion to the best season of his career. Earlier in the year, he won his first European Championship title and claimed the overall World Cup title on the still rings.
Armenia Finishes Ahead of the USA, Russia and Great Britain
Following the conclusion of the men's competitions, Armenia secured third place in the overall medal standings.
Top Three in the Men's Medal Standings at the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
| Rank | Country | G | S | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Armenia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
All three nations won two gold medals each. However, China and Japan ranked ahead of Armenia thanks to their additional silver medals.
Japan's gymnasts won the team all-around competition, while Daiki Hashimoto claimed the individual all-around world title.
China secured gold medals on the still rings through Lan Xingyu and on the parallel bars through Zou Jingyuan.
Armenia finished ahead of major gymnastics nations such as the United States, Great Britain and Russia in the men's medal standings.
The World Championships in Rotterdam will go down as one of the most successful tournaments in the history of Armenian artistic gymnastics. Four athletes, four medals, two world titles and several historic milestones — an achievement that highlights the strength of Armenia's gymnastics tradition.
It is important to emphasize that Armenia's third-place finish refers specifically to the men's medal standings, not the separate team all-around competition, which was won by Japan.