Shavarsh Karapetyan
Encyclopedia
Shavarsh Vladimirovich Karapetyan (born May 19, 1953 in Kirovakan) is a retired Soviet
Armenian
finswimmer
, 13-times European Champion and seven-times USSR Champion, who saved 20 lives when a trolleybus
fell into the Yerevan
reservoir
.
Karapetyan, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR
, ten-time finswimming World Record-breaker, is better known in the former USSR
for one particular day of his life, September 16, 1976. On that day, training with his brother Kamo, also a finswimmer, by running
alongside the Yerevan Lake
, Karapetyan had just completed his usual distance of 20 km (12.4 mi) when he heard the sound of the crash and saw the sinking trolleybus which had gone out of control and fallen from the dam
wall.
The trolleybus lay at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 meters (80 ft) off the shore at a depth of 10 meters (33 ft). Karapetyan swam to it and, under conditions of almost zero visibility due to the silt
rising from the bottom, broke the back window with his legs. The trolleybus was crowded, it carried 92 passengers and Karapetyan knew he had little time, spending some 30 to 35 seconds for each person he saved.
Karapetyan managed to rescue 20 people, but this was the end of his sports career: the combined effect of cold water and the multiple wounds he received, left him lying unconscious for 45 days, with subsequent sepsis (due to the presence of raw sewer in the lake water) and lung complications preventing him from continuing his sports career.
Karapetyan's achievement was not recognized immediately. All related photos were kept at the district attorney’s office and were only published two years later. He was awarded a medal "For Saving Drowning People in the Water" and the Order of the Badge of Honor
. His name became a household name in the USSR on October 12, 1982, when Komsomolskaya Pravda
published an article on his feat, entitled "The Underwater Battle of the Champion".
A main belt asteroid
3027 Shavarsh
, discovered by Nikolai Chernykh, was named after him (approved by the MPC
in September 1986).
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
finswimmer
Finswimming
Finswimming is the progression of a swimmer using monofins or normal swimfins either on the water surface or underwater, using only muscle strength. It is a discipline of underwater sports. The competition distances are same as for swimming...
, 13-times European Champion and seven-times USSR Champion, who saved 20 lives when a trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
fell into the Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
.
Karapetyan, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR
Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR
Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR is a document which provided general Soviet physical education system requirements for athletes. The classification was established in 1935 and was based on separate classifications, which existed for several sports disciplines before...
, ten-time finswimming World Record-breaker, is better known in the former USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for one particular day of his life, September 16, 1976. On that day, training with his brother Kamo, also a finswimmer, by running
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
alongside the Yerevan Lake
Yerevan lake
Yerevan Lake is an artificial lake located in the capital of Armenia in Yerevan.The new US Embassy is located along its northwestern shore.- Bus accident in 1976 :...
, Karapetyan had just completed his usual distance of 20 km (12.4 mi) when he heard the sound of the crash and saw the sinking trolleybus which had gone out of control and fallen from the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
wall.
The trolleybus lay at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 meters (80 ft) off the shore at a depth of 10 meters (33 ft). Karapetyan swam to it and, under conditions of almost zero visibility due to the silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
rising from the bottom, broke the back window with his legs. The trolleybus was crowded, it carried 92 passengers and Karapetyan knew he had little time, spending some 30 to 35 seconds for each person he saved.
Karapetyan managed to rescue 20 people, but this was the end of his sports career: the combined effect of cold water and the multiple wounds he received, left him lying unconscious for 45 days, with subsequent sepsis (due to the presence of raw sewer in the lake water) and lung complications preventing him from continuing his sports career.
Karapetyan's achievement was not recognized immediately. All related photos were kept at the district attorney’s office and were only published two years later. He was awarded a medal "For Saving Drowning People in the Water" and the Order of the Badge of Honor
Order of the Badge of Honor
The Order of the Badge of Honour was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.It was instituted on 25 November 1935 and conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in production, scientific research and social, cultural and other forms of social activity, for promotion of economic,...
. His name became a household name in the USSR on October 12, 1982, when Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
published an article on his feat, entitled "The Underwater Battle of the Champion".
A main belt asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
3027 Shavarsh
3027 Shavarsh
3027 Shavarsh is a main-belt asteroid discovered on August 8, 1978 by N. Chernykh at Nauchnyj.- External links :*...
, discovered by Nikolai Chernykh, was named after him (approved by the MPC
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory , which is part of the Center for Astrophysics along with the Harvard College Observatory ....
in September 1986).
External links
- The trolley-bus and Shavarsh Karapetyan Ihtiandr and Others, an article in Itogi magazine, contains an overview of underwater sports development in the USSR