Now Paris becomes an issue

“I still have a close relationship with Armenia, I was born there and my parents live here,” says weightlifter Sargis Martirosyan. Although he has already competed twice at the Olympics and has been decorated with five medals at the European and World Championships, the Linzer by choice, who has been an Austrian citizen for several years, has now celebrated what is probably one of his greatest successes to date in his former homeland.

At the advanced Stemmer age of 36, he managed a surprising coup in the snatch at the European Championships in Armenia’s capital Yerevan. In the category up to 109 kg he won another bronze medal in his favorite discipline, the snatch, with 173 kg.

And that’s despite the fact that Martirosjan is already the national coach and only lifts the barbell part-time. On Saturday morning he still had to look after Julian Heidenbauer, on Wednesday he had already been able to celebrate bronze in the snatch with his Voest club colleague Hmayak Misakyan. For Martirosyan, however, even the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 could become an issue. “Let’s see if my body will cooperate,” he blocks.

Sarah Fischer won Austria’s third medal in these title fights on Sunday. The 22-year-old lifted 134 kg in the clean and jerk in the over 87 kg category and won bronze.