Ethnic Armenian athlete embarrasses himself at Olympics
An ethnic Armenian athlete who made an outrageous move at the
Beijing Olympics on Thursday has been deprived of his medal by the
International Olympic Committee.
At the awarding ceremony, Greco-Roman wrestler Ara Abrahamian broke the ribbon of his bronze medal and tossed it to the ground, yelling "I am not going to stand alongside a Turk at the same pulpit".
He then ran out of the premises, spewing swear words. The medal remained on the ground for up to 20 minutes until Swedish coaches picked it up and walked out of the hall in embarrassment.
Abrahamian, who is part of Sweden's team in the 84 kg bracket, had previously physically attacked the referee in a match with an Italian opponent.
After realizing he showed disrespect for thousands of spectators and millions of TV viewers, he tried to justify his actions by saying the referees had unfairly judged the bout.
The ethnic Armenian athlete ultimately apologized to the audience, at the insistence of the Swedish coaches, but did not extend an apology to the referee.
At the awarding ceremony, Greco-Roman wrestler Ara Abrahamian broke the ribbon of his bronze medal and tossed it to the ground, yelling "I am not going to stand alongside a Turk at the same pulpit".
He then ran out of the premises, spewing swear words. The medal remained on the ground for up to 20 minutes until Swedish coaches picked it up and walked out of the hall in embarrassment.
Abrahamian, who is part of Sweden's team in the 84 kg bracket, had previously physically attacked the referee in a match with an Italian opponent.
After realizing he showed disrespect for thousands of spectators and millions of TV viewers, he tried to justify his actions by saying the referees had unfairly judged the bout.
The ethnic Armenian athlete ultimately apologized to the audience, at the insistence of the Swedish coaches, but did not extend an apology to the referee.
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