Levon Julfalakyan is a former Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler. He is an Olympic, World, and European Champion and was merited Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1988. Julfalakyan is the current head coach of the Armenian national Greco-Roman wrestling team and President of the Union of Armenian Olympians, as well as a member of the executive committee of the NOC.
Levon Julfalakyan on a 2011 Armenian postage stamp
Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, classic wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1904. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist, which is the main feature that differentiates it from freestyle wrestling. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to bring an opponent to the ground or hook/grab the opponent's leg to avoid being thrown.
A Greco-Roman wrestling match at the 2004 U.S. National Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas
Even on the mat, a Greco-Roman wrestler must still find ways to turn his opponent's shoulders to the mat for a fall without using the legs.
Greco-Roman wrestling gold medal match taking place during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Throws of grand amplitude, such as is seen here, can win entire periods, though bearing an extremely high risk of multiple injuries to both athletes, they require an all-out exertion of body strength and flexibility with inch-wise accuracy to execute safely, and a great deal of athleticism to get away unharmed.
