Murad Agharzayev from Azerbaijan had a very good competition at the Islamic Games in Baku, winning gold on floor. In the interview after the competition, he dedicated this medal to his mother. He said that he is proud to be the first Azerbaijani male gymnast to win gold at an international competition and that his win will serve as an inspiration for future gymnasts in his home country. Agharzayev is not, in fact, the first male artistic gymnast representing Azerbaijan to win a gold medal at an international competition. Oleg Stepko won several gold medals for Azerbaijan, including the gold on parallel bars at the 2015 European Games. Bence Talas, who is currently representing Azerbaijan, also won two golds at the Islamic Games – on pommel horse and high bar. However, Agharzayev is the first gold medalist of Azeri origin, while Stepko and Talas immigrated to Azerbaijan from Ukraine and Hungary, respectively, in order to compete for the country.
Фото: Trend
Does Valeri Belenki count when he competed for the USSR/CIS? Two world team golds, one Olympic team gold and individual gold on pommel horse in 1991.
I don’t think he’d count in the sense that Agharzayev means – an ethnically Azeri gold medalist. Belenki’s Jewish, not Azeri.