YEREVAN (Armenpress)–A portion of the Armenian athletic delegation to the Sydney Olympics left for Australia Monday. A senior official of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee told Armenpress before the departure that 27 Armenian athletes–who have qualified for the Games are able to compete for several medals.
The head of the weightlifting federation–chief trainer of the team and Olympic champion Ogsen Mirzoyan noted that participation of Armenian team in the Olympics is already a great event. He said Armenian athletes will face serious challenges in Sydney–taking into account the fact that they have not trained in such conditions as their main rivals from Russia–Bulgaria and the US had.
Armenian athletes also hope that a 30,000-strong Armenian community in Australia–and first of all a well-known Armenian weight-lifter Yuri Sargissian–who is in the Australian team–will render their support to them
Meanewhile–leading Armenian tennis-player–25-year-old Sargis Sargissian will arrive in Yerevan September 6 and then leave for Sydney as a member of Armenian team.
Sargissian–who is rated among the world’s best 100 tennis-players–has vast experience in participating in various tournamen’s–including the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has granted him the right to participate in the Sydney’s Olympics and become the 27th member in the Armenian Olympic team.