Shavarsh Karapetyan

The photograph shows Shavarsh Karapetyan in a dark suit and tie. Across his chest is a band covered with numerous medals and badges, and medals on ribbons hang from his neck. Behind him is a landscape backdrop.

Shavarsh Karapetyan was one of the outstanding figures of Soviet and Armenian sport: 11 times a world record holder, 17 times world champion, 13 times European champion and 7 times USSR champion. On 16 September 1976 in Yerevan, a trolleybus carrying 92 passengers fell into a lake at a depth of about 10 metres. Shavarsh, then 23, dived into the cold, dirty water, broke the trolleybus’s rear window and for more than 20 minutes brought people out. He saved 20 lives. As a result of this feat he suffered severe bilateral pneumonia and blood poisoning and was never able to return to top-level sport.