Hamlet Manukyan, a 17-year-old Armenian artistic gymnast, debuted in the sport at the age of five, encouraged by his father. Coming from an athletic family – his cousin Hayk Manukyan is a European champion in wrestling – Hamlet grew up in the small town of Apaga, about an hour from the capital city of Yerevan, and had to travel daily for training.
While balancing school and gymnastics, Hamlet had his breakthrough in 2023 becoming junior world champion on pommel horse and rings.
Earlier this year, competing at the senior level for the first time, he won gold medals on pommel horse at the FIG World Cups in Osijek, Doha, and Cairo. In May, he was crowned European champion on the same apparatus in Leipzig, Germany.
“It’s definitely challenging to balance sports with college, but we try our best to keep up with our classes. We make up for any gaps by reading more and staying focused on our studies,” said the student from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture.
Now, Hamlet is excited to represent his country at the FISU Games alongside his best friend, Mamikon Khachatryan.
“In the past, there were a lot of injuries, but now we’ve grown. As adults, we’re able to win medals for our country, and that makes us incredibly proud. We work very hard to perform at our best. We’ve been preparing for these competitions for a long time, and we’re ready. Let’s see how everything turns out.”
Rising star
Khachatryan, 18, is also a student at the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture. He started gymnastics at the age of five as well with the support of his mother. Like his friend and teammate, this year marks his debut in the senior category.
In 2023, he won silver on pommel horse at the Junior World Championships, finishing just behind Manukyan. Earlier this year, he added more medals to his collection, silver at the European Championships in Leipzig and gold at the Tashkent World Challenge Cup.
About his successful start at the senior level, Khachatryan said: “I am very happy and proud that we were able to win a medal in our very first year. Representing our country and winning medals is an incredible feeling.”
Friendly rivalry
Outside of sports, Manukyan and Khachatryan are close friends, but when it comes to pommel horse, they become rivals. Still, that rivalry never affects their friendship.
“Above all, we are friends first, then competitors. We support each other a lot. When he achieves something, I am there for him, and he does the same for me. Friendship always comes first,” Manukyan said.
“Outside of sports, we are friends but in competition, we are rivals,” added Khachatryan. “Still, that doesn’t stop us from supporting each other and maintaining a good relationship. First of all we are friends on the first floor, competitors on the second.”
The two students-athletes start competition on Tuesday, 22 July, with high hopes of standing on the podium once again — this time at the FISU Games – especially on their favorite apparatus, the pommel horse.
The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 16-27 July. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.
Written by Düşlem Gökgöz, FISU Young Reporter, Türkiye
The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.
We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.