Samvel Gasparyan Summarizes the Results of the 2026 European Weightlifting Championships

Samvel Gasparyan, Secretary General of the Armenian Weightlifting Federation, summed up the performances of the men’s and women’s national teams at the European Championships, highlighting both the team’s successes and certain shortcomings.

According to him, the team arrived at the tournament in good form and had initially aimed to win 4–5 gold medals. However, this plan was not fully realized. Nevertheless, Gasparyan assessed the overall result positively, emphasizing that the Armenian team claimed three European titles, and several athletes improved their personal performances.

“We came to this championship in good shape and initially aimed for 4–5 gold medals. Unfortunately, that did not happen. There were athletes who improved their results at this championship, and there were those who were unable to show the desired performance. Overall, I would rate the championship very highly, as we have three European champions. Compared to last year, a new name has appeared among the gold medalists. Last year’s bronze medalists became silver medalists this year. It is precisely this championship that clarifies the lineup of athletes who will participate in the World Championship,” he said in an interview with Armenpress.

Gasparyan paid special attention to the performance of Simon Martirosyan. He described the athlete as a legendary figure in world weightlifting and noted that frequent changes in weight categories increase the risk of injury. In this regard, it is possible that Martirosyan may move to a different weight category (+110 kg) in the future.

Gasparyan also criticized the frequent reforms introduced by the International Weightlifting Federation, pointing out that constant changes in weight categories create additional difficulties in athlete preparation. Final decisions regarding the distribution of athletes across weight divisions will be made after discussions within the coaching staff.

It was separately emphasized that the results achieved at the European Championships correspond to the level of the World Championships. The coaching staff of the men’s national team had the task of at least repeating last year’s result — and that goal was achieved.

Results of the Armenian National Team:

Gold: Varazdat Lalayan, Emma Poghosyan, Garik Karapetyan
Silver: Garnik Cholakyan, Alexandra Grigoryan, Gor Saakyan, Ara Aghanyan
Bronze: Martin Poghosyan

Full results of the Armenian national team.

In addition, Anna Amroyan won gold in the clean and jerk event, while Liana Gyurjyan earned silver in the same discipline.

Following the tournament, the coaching staff has already begun forming the team lineup for the upcoming World Championships, where the team aims to build on its achievements.

The 2026 World Weightlifting Championships will be held from October 27 to November 8 in Ningbo, China.