August 17, 2007

Online exhibition at www.genocide-museum.am.

On the occasion of the Forth Pan-Armenian games to be held in Yerevan in August 18-26, 2007.

The history of Armenian sport and Armenian participation in the Olympic games has deep roots. It’s known that Navasardian Games have been organized in ancient Armenia. Armenian kings Trdat and Varazdat from Arshakuni dynasty where the first Armenians who participated in the Olympic games.

Despite the segregationist and discriminative nature of the Ottoman governments Armenians played significant role in the social, economical and cultural, as well as sport life of the empire.The tradition of sport activity revived among the Ottoman Armenians especially at the beginning of the 20th century, before the implementation of Genocide as a result of which the whole Armenian nation on the territory of the Ottoman Turkey circa 1915 was eliminated. Who escaped the death, was deported from own homeland. For the first time in the history of Turkish Olympic games, two Armenian athletes Vahram Papazyan and Mkrtich Mkryan participated in the fifth international Olympic games in Stockholm in 1912.

Many Armenian teams and sportsmen, inside the Empire and beyond its borders, permanently scored victories and records in multinational competitions.

The reason of the participation of the Armenian sportsmen in the Olympic games aimed to remind the world about the existence of Armenian nation suffering under the Ottoman Turkey.

It’s interesting enough that from 1911 to 1914 four “Armenian Olympic games” were organized with the participation of all Armenian sport clubs. Winners of the competitions were awarded with silver medals.

Many Armenian sportsmen fall victims of the first genocide of the 20th century.