Norayr Nurikyan

Norayr Nurikyan began his sporting career playing basketball, but soon turned to weightlifting due to his short stature. Nurikyan won his first medal at the Bulgarian weightlifting championships in 1967, with a silver in the <56 kg class. He won two more silvers (1968, 1970) and a bronze (1969) before winning his first national title in 1971, competing in the <60 kg class. At the Bulgarian championships he won two further titles (1972, 1975), along with another silver in 1974. He also won three consecutive golds at the Balkan Championships from 1973 to 1975.

In 1969 Nurikyan won his first medal at the European Championships with bronze in the <56 kg. After moving up to the <60 kg class he won silver in 1972 and 1973, followed by another bronze in 1974, before finally winning gold in 1976.

Nurikyan made his Olympic début in München in 1972, with the Games also serving as the World Championships. In the featherweight (<60 kg) he lifted a combined total of 402.5 kg to win gold, equalling the then world record in the process. Four years later he participated at the Montréal Olympics, with the Games once again also serving as the World Championships. This time as a bantamweight (<56 kg), Nurikyan won his second gold at the Games with a total lift of 262.5 kg, also setting a world record. He also won further medals at the World Championships, with bronze in 1971 and 1974, along with a silver in 1973.

Following his sports career Nurikyan worked as a coach for the national team, leading the weightlifting team to four medals at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, including a gold for Ivan Ivanov. He later served as the secretary general of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation (1995–2004) and was the Vice-President of the International Weightlifting Federation from 2001 to 2005.