Vahram Papazyan (athlete)
Vahram Hepet S. Papazyan (Armenian Վահրամ Փափազեան; born September 12, 1892 in Üsküdar, Ottoman Empire, † March 6, 1986 in Emerson, New Jersey / USA) was one of two athletes in the Ottoman Empire at the Summer Olympic Games 1912 representing Stockholm and thus in its first participation in the Olympic Games. He participated in the 800 -meter run and the 1500 - meter race of men. Apart from him, the country was from athletes Mığır Mığıryan, also an ethnic Armenians represented.
Life
Vahram Papazyan was of Armenian descent and was born the son of a newspaper seller. He grew up in Üsküdar and Istanbul and visited the Robert College in neighboring Arnavutköy ( now a district of Istanbul). One of his classmates was Mığır Mığıryan. Every morning ran Papazyan first of his parents' apartment in Bebek district on the " Sublime Porte " to pick up newspapers and to bring to the kiosk of the Father. After that he then ran to college in Arnavutköy, so that every day he did a great running load.
At the age of 13, he took part in the so-called 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens as a middle-distance runner. Papazyan came the 800 - meter race in 8th place, the 1,500 meter race, he did not reach the goal. He was the youngest participant in the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens.
As the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish Empire ) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1911 was admitted to the IOC organized by the "official" Olympic Games, the president of the Turkish Olympic Committee Selim Sırrı Tarcan advertisements were on in the local newspapers İkdam and Sabah to to recruit athletes for the 1912 Olympic Games in Sweden. Papazyan immediately responded to the ad and expressed his desire to represent his country in international play. To cover the cost of his trips, he asked for financial support from the Armenian Sports Club Ardavast, whose member he was. The association then organized a play at the Greek theater in Arnavutköy to apply both the necessary financial resources as also to increase the awareness of Papazyan. Papazyan himself played a small supporting role. The total costs of his Olympic participation could be covered.
After 1913, Robert graduated from college, he was instrumental in the founding of the Armenian General Athletic Association.
The genocide of the Armenians in 1915, survived Papazyan. He left his homeland and settled in Beirut, that was a vilayet of Syria at that time. There he married Annette Egavian and had two sons named Robert and Harold, and two daughters named Yolanda and Diane. Finally, he moved with his family to the United States, where he was an electrical engineer. Papazyan worked 35 years for the company Eddy & Co. in Providence, Rhode Iceland, before he went into retirement.
Vahram Papazyan died at the age of 93 years in the Armenian old people's home of Emerson ( New Jersey). His grave is in the cemetery Swan Point in Providence.
Olympic games
In the Summer Olympics 1912 in Stockholm, the two Ottoman citizens and athletes Vahram Papzyan and Mığır Mığıryan represented the only their land and carried the Ottoman flag at the opening ceremony. Both had to be proactive in order to finance their participation costs, as there were no subsidies from the government or the Olympic Committee.
In competitions Papazyan different from both the 800 -meter run and the 1,500 meter race. According to the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports, he had the 1,500 meter race a " fabulous time " and was leading the race. However Papazyan was dizzy 20 meters before the finish line and he collapsed. According to a later report of a grandson of him, however the following reason for the failure is said to have existed:
"I remember stories about my grandfather, Vahram Papazian, who ran the Decathlon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Grandpa would tell us how Suddenly, two lengths ahead of the nearest contender, it dawned on him if he did won, the Turkish flag would be raised. So he stopped. "
" I remember stories about my grandfather, Vahram Papazyan, in Stockholm participated at the Olympic Games 1912 in the decathlon. Grandfather told us how he suddenly, as he was two lengths ahead of his nearest competitor, remembered that the Turkish flag would be hoisted on his victory. Therefore, he stopped running. "
In a letter, the Papazyan wrote during his time in Beirut, he talked about his disappointment in his part in the Olympics about that Turkish flags were not set up as part of the Olympic decoration in Stockholm. He had then then contacted the local Turkish Embassy and expressed his concerns.