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| Armenians Count Blessings | Armenians Done in by Rules |
By Bernadine Waller, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Father Nersess Jebjian prayed for Armenia's Olympic athletes to win a gold medal.
They got it.
Jebjian prayed again this week -- this time for the country's five Paralympians in their upcoming contests.
"It makes me extremely proud to bless them and pray for them," said Jebjian, a missionary priest for the Armenian Church of Atlanta in Riverdale. "Much larger and more powerful countries haven't gotten any medals."
This is the first Paralympic Games in which Armenian athletes are not representing the Soviet Union in competition. They will compete in yachting, a demonstration sport and powerlifting.
On Tuesday, athletes were able to partake in the divine liturgy, blessing of grapes and the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, commemorating the Virgin Mary's ascension to heaven. Following the service, they were honored with an Armenian-style banquet.
Three of the five athletes were injured in the 1988 earthquake that killed an estimated 25,000 Armenians.
Garoush Danielian was in English class when the earthquake rocked the country. He lost his right leg.
"I thought that everything was lost, no one needs me," Danielian said, "but time is the best remedy."
Now 19, he and his teammates have gone on to win their right to participate in the 1996 Paralympic Games yachting.
"As I am struggling against the wind and the waves in water, I imagine to do the same in my future life to overcome all difficulties," Danielian said.
By David Pendered, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three other countries medaled in Paralympic yachting, but the eighth- place Armenians will be remembered for energizing the 1996 demonstration regatta.
The trio of teenage sailors, injured in their country's devastating 1988 earthquake, came out of nowhere to put together solid finishes against skippers with more experience and higher reputations.
They would have won the silver had they not been disqualified from two top finishes for violating rules in a book that has yet to be translated into their language. They labor with one written in Russian, a task not unlike teaching yourself geometry with a textbook in a foreign language.
"They have sailed very smart and very fast," said Gene Hinkel, the regatta's technical director. "Their only problem has been with the rules. They understand the basics, but the intricacies have tripped them up."
"They are fast, good sailors," said gold-medal skipper Andrew Cassell, 54, of Great Britain.
At home, the teens train in one of four sailboats berthed on Lake Sevan, said Rouzan Sargsyan, assistant chief of the Armenian mission at the games. They started sailing three years ago, and the regatta on Lake Lanier was only their third international experience.
"There is a wooden boat they rent and have to repair all the time," Sargsyan said. "They have to sew the sails every time they go out because they are so old and tear apart like paper."
With funding in short supply, the future is uncertain for skipper Garush Danielyan, who lost a leg above the knee, mainsail trimmer Armen Martirosyan, who lost his left arm at the shoulder and a leg above the knee, and jib trimmer Hayk Abgaryan, who has a below-the-knee amputation.
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