Artur Akopyan (Armenian: Արթուր Հակոբյան born September 28, 1961) is an Armenian-American gymnastics coach for the USA Gymnastics National Team and a former gymnast on the USSR Olympic Gymnastics Team. He is credited as the first athlete to do a Tsukahara double twist. Akopyan received three scores of 10 at the 1981 World Championships in Moscow. His competitive career included the 1983 World vault title, in addition to three other World individual medals.
| Artur Akopyan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Artur Akopyan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former countries represented |  Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 28, 1961 Yerevan, Soviet Armenia, USSR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Los Angeles, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior International Elite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 1976-1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Trudoviye Reservi Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gym | All Olympia Gymnastics Center (AOGC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Genrikh Vanisyan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Coaching career
editAkopyan previously coached 2012 Olympic champion McKayla Maroney. His past national team members include Mattie Larson and Samantha Shapiro. He served as a member of the national team coaching staff from 1989 to 2004. He coaches at All Olympia Gymnastics Center in Los Angeles, California.[1] Akopyan gained recognition in the United States after Bela Karolyi asked him to help gymnast Kim Zmeskal. Within a couple of days, Akopyan was able to help Zmeskal with elements of her compulsory routine that she had been working on for a year.[2][3][4][5]
Competitive history
edit| Year | Event | AA | Team | VT | HB | PH | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | USSR Cup (junior) | 1st | |||||
| 1977 | USSR Championships (junior) | 1st | |||||
| Friendship Tournament | 6th | 1st | |||||
| All-Union Youth Sports Games | 1st | ||||||
| 1978 | USSR Championships (junior) | 2nd | |||||
| Friendship Tournament (junior) | 4th | 1st | 2nd | ||||
| 1979 | USSR Spartakiade | 13th | 5th | ||||
| USSR Championships | 6th | 5th | 4th | ||||
| USSR-ROM Dual Meet | 1st | 1st | |||||
| USSR-GDR Dual Meet | 1st | 1st | |||||
| USSR Cup | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | |||
| Chunichi Cup | 3rd | ||||||
| Tokyo Cup | 1st | 1st | |||||
| 1980 | USSR Cup | 6 | |||||
| Moscow News | 3rd | ||||||
| 1981 | USSR Cup | 11th | 2nd | ||||
| USSR Championships | 5th | 1st | 2nd | ||||
| University Games | 3rd | 5th | 6th | 7th | |||
| Milan Grand Prix | 4th | ||||||
| World Championships | 8th | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | |||
| 1983 | USSR Spartakiade | 3rd | 1st | ||||
| USSR Cup | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | ||||
| USSR Championships | 5th | 1st | 4th | 6th | |||
| USA-USSR Dual Meet | 6th | 1st | |||||
| Dynamo Spartakiade | 3rd | ||||||
| Riga International | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||||
| World Championships | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | ||||
| 1985 | USSR Cup | 6th | |||||
| USSR Championships | 6th | 8th |
References
edit- ^ "USA Gymnastics: Artur Akopyan". Archived from the original on 2013-10-14.
- ^ "USA Gymnastics: Artur Akopyan".
- ^ Zakharian, Lianna (Jan–Feb 2011). "Spotting the Champions". Yerevan Magazine. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- ^ "All Olympia Gymnastics Center: Staff". All Olympia Gymnastics Center. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- ^ "USA Gymnastics: McKayla Maroney". USA Gymnastics. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2012.