Sergey Mikayelyan – Cross Country Skiing – Winter Olympics Sochi 2014

Sergey Mikayelyan was the Armenian flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. For his country he will be competing in the Cross Country event in both the Men’s 15KM Classic and the endurance sapping Skiathlon.

Sergey Mikayelyan

Future
At only 21 years of age Mikayelyan has many winter Olympics ahead of him and the 2014 Sochi Games can be considered a training ground for the young Armenian skier. Realistically a medal was not anticipated, however, Mikayelyan is definitely one to watch for the future and the experience he has gained in becoming an Olympian will be invaluable in future World Championships and Olympic qualifying events.

Cross Country Skiing
Don’t let his age deceive you, Mikayelyan may only be 21 years old but he took up skiing in 2001 when he was only 9 years old and began competing in the cross country event not long after. He takes his sport seriously and trains six days a week, however he serves in the Armenian Army and they are very supportive of national sporting stars. Furthermore, his physical development was nurtured early when he was educated at the State Institute of Physical Education, Yerevan.

Family Connection
His Olympic ambitions are well rooted in his family; his mother was a well-respected cross country skier and competed at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games held in Nagano. Furthermore, his father, who Mikayelyan rates as his greatest influence on his sporting ambitions, was a multiple Armenian champion in the cross country event.

Vancouver, 2010
Given his age you would be forgiven for thinking Sochi 2014 would be Mikayelyan’s first winter Olympic Games, however you would be quite wrong as he was at the 2010 games in Vancouver, Canada. He took part in the 15Km free event and was ranked 70th overall with a time of 37.58.9, which when you consider he was only seventeen is a very impressive position. His Vancouver experience will certainly bolster his confidence as he skies across the Russian slopes in February. In addition, since 2009, Mikayelyan has won 4 lesser cross country events and was placed 8th in the Junior World Championships (under 23), Turkey in 2012.

Sochi, 2014
On February 9th Mikayelyan took to the cross country circuit to compete in the Skiathlon and posted a time of 1:13:16.6 which was 5:01 off the pace and left him in 46th place. He fared better in the 15Km Classic on the 14th February, where he posted a time of 42:39.1 which was 4:09.4 off the pace of the leader and he eventually placed in 46th place.

Whilst Mikayelyan may be disappointed with his final placing he is very young and has many Winter Olympic Games ahead of him.