Shavarsh Karapetyan

Shavarsh Vladimiri (Vladimirovich)[1] Karapetyan (Armenian: Շավարշ Կարապետյան; born May 19, 1953) is a retired Armenian finswimmer, best known for saving the lives of 20 people in a 1976 incident in Yerevan.[2]

Shavarsh Karapetyan
Shavarsh Karapetyan in 2014
Personal information
NationalityArmenian
BornMay 19, 1953 (1953-05-19) (age 69)
Kirovakan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Sport
CountrySoviet
SportFinswimming

Biography

Karapetyan was born on May 19, 1953, in Armenia's third largest city of Kirovakan (now called Vanadzor), then part of the Soviet Union. His family moved to Yerevan in 1964, where Shavarsh finished eight years of school and then attended a technical school for auto-mechanics. On the advice of family friends, he started to learn swimming at a young age. He later switched to finswimming. In 1975–1976, Karapetyan served in a Soviet Air Defence Forces base in the Baku military district.[3]

1974 bus incident

In 1974 Shavarsh was riding a bus when the driver pulled over to check on a mechanical problem. The engine was left running though, and the bus suddenly started rolling down towards a mountain gorge. Shavarsh broke down the partition separating the passengers from the driver's compartment, took control of the steering and turned the bus away from the cliff.[2]

1976 trolleybus incident

Karapetyan became well known in the former USSR for an act of heroism in which he rescued several people from drowning. On September 16, 1976, while jogging alongside Yerevan Lake with his brother Kamo, also a finswimmer, Karapetyan had just completed his usual distance of 20 km (12 mi) when he heard the sound of a crash and saw a sinking trolleybus which had lost control and fallen from a dam wall.[4]

The trolleybus lay at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 metres (80 ft) offshore at a depth of 10 metres (33 ft).[5] Karapetyan swam to it and, despite conditions of almost zero visibility due to the silt rising from the bottom, broke the back window with his legs. The trolleybus carried 92 passengers. Karapetyan pulled people up from the bottom of the lake to his waiting brother.[6] In total he dove 20 times, each dive lasting about 25 seconds, and pulled out a total of 37 people. 9 others escaped on their own through the window he broke. Unfortunately only 20 of the 46 survived, despite medical attention at the scene.[2]

The combined effect of multiple lacerations from glass shards led to Karapetyan's hospitalization for 45 days,[5] as he developed pneumonia and sepsis. Subsequent lung complications prevented Karapetyan from continuing his sports career.[6] He did, however, insist on one last meet despite his damaged lungs, and managed to set a new world record despite the haze of pain.[2]

Karapetyan's achievement was not immediately recognized. All related photos were kept at the district attorney's office and were only published two years later. He was awarded the Medal "For the Salvation of the Drowning" and the Order of the Badge of Honor. He became a household name in the USSR on October 12, 1982, when Komsomolskaya Pravda published the article on his feat, entitled "The Underwater Battle of the Champion". This publication revealed that he was the rescuer; and he received about 60,000 letters.

Swimming career

During his career, Karapetyan became a Merited Master of Sports of the USSR and an eleven-time world record-breaker in finswimming. He acquired 7 Soviet championships, 13 European championships, and 17 world championships for a total of 37 gold medals by the time he retired at the age of 24.[2]

Today he coaches his son Tigran and heads the Shavarsh Karapetyan Foundation to support young swimmers.[2]

1985 burning building incident

On February 19, 1985, Shavarsh was near a burning building that had people trapped inside. He rushed in and started pulling people out. Once again, he was badly hurt (severe burns) and spent a long time in the hospital.

Karapetyan was later awarded a UNESCO "Fair Play" award for his heroism.[7]

The main belt asteroid 3027 Shavarsh, in 1978 discovered by Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, was named after him (approved by the MPC in September 1986).[8][1]

Karapetyan moved to Moscow where he founded a shoe company called "Second Breath". He regularly visits Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh.[9]

Karapetyan took part in the 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay for the second stage of the run. He was passed the torch in Moscow and carried it towards Krasnogorsk.[10] The next day, Karapetyan carried the torch for a second time. He also stated in an interview, "I was carrying the torch for Russia and for Armenia."[11]

See also

References
  1. Minor Planet Circulars (M. P. C.) 11159 18 September 1986, retrieved 22 Oktober 2017.
  2. "Twenty-Five Seconds Per Life". Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  3. Биография Шаварша Карапетяна (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  4. Agentstvo pechati "Novosti" (1985). USSR Yearbook. The Agency. p. 69.
  5. Soviet Champion Saves 20 Lives, 1976 Archived 2014-07-28 at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo Voices. Retrieved 19 July 2013
  6. "The Plunge «". Grantland.com. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  7. International Fair Play Committee: FAIR PLAY AWARD WINNERS — Shafarsh V.KARAPETIAN Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Schmadel, Lutz D. Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. — Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. — B., Heidelberg, N. Y.: Springer, 2003. — P. 249. — ISBN 3-540-00238-3
  9. Շավարշ Կարապետյան. «Հայկական ֆուտբոլը» նոր տերմին է (in Armenian). NEWS.am Sport. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  10. Олимпийский огонь потух во время пробега по Кремлю. Forbes (in Russian). 6 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  11. Շավարշ Կարապետյանը երկրորդ անգամ մասնակցել է Սոչիի Օլիմպիական խաղերի փոխանցումավազքին (in Armenian). NEWS.am Sport. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
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