Sunday is the biggest day of the AYF Olympics weekend — when the bulk of the points are won and the day for track and field. Track and field events have been in each of the 90 Olympic Games.
Click to view slideshow.As in previous Detroit Olympics, the track and field events took place at The Hawk — the Farmington Hills Community Center, formerly Harrison High School. Unlike most other Olympic Sundays, which were held in sweltering conditions, the weather for the 90th track and field day was in the mid-70s and breezy — a perfect day.
Detroit came into the day with the lead, and they only expanded on it as the events progressed to win their 17th Olympics and the second in a row! They had a strong showing on the track and in the field events for both men and women.
Click to view slideshow.The more detailed results were presented during the awards ceremony at the Olympics Ball. Sixteen chapters scored points in this Olympics, with four from the western region along with the Toronto chapter from Canada. Typically, the top three or four teams are listed in the standings. This year, however, there are five, because the teams that placed fourth, fifth and sixth were in the range of just six points. Following are the top five teams and their point totals.
- Detroit “Kopernik Tandourjian” 253 points
- Greater Boston “Nejdeh” 93 points
- New Jersey “Arsen” 67 points
- Providence “Varantian” 65 points
- Philadelphia “Sebouh” 63 points
The 90th AYF Olympics were notable for a few other reasons. There were eight high scorers: four men and four women. Of the eight, five were from Detroit showing the strength and talent of this “Kopernik Tandourjian” team. The high scorers were:
- Gina Couyoumjian – Detroit
- Anoush Krafian – Greater Boston
- Natalia Oganesian – Providence
- Melanie Sarafian – Detroit
- Nicholas Couyoumjian – Detroit
- Zach Semerjian – Providence
- Mher Tcholakian – Detroit
- Armen Vartanian – Detroit
Detroit also won gold medals in the men’s and women’s pentathlon. Sasoun Tcholakian came in first on the men’s side, and Teny Topouzian won the women’s competition.
Additionally, three records were broken this weekend.
- Anoush Krafian, Greater Boston — Triple Jump
Mark of 33’5”, beating the previous record of 33’2.5” - Natalia Oganesian, Providence — 50 Yard Breaststroke
Time of 34.64 seconds, beating the previous record of 34.8 seconds - Hagop Taraksian, Providence
Won his eighth tennis title, the most in AYF Olympics history
The Racine chapter received the “Most Improved Chapter” trophy. For perhaps the first time, two Ernest Nahigian Sportsmanship trophies were awarded to Ani Comella of Providence and Michael Ohanesian of Detroit.
More in-depth coverage of all the results and accomplishments will be presented in the Armenian Weekly’s Olympic Special Issue. Be a part of this keepsake and sponsor a page!
All the awards were not for athletic achievements. This year, the Central Executive decided to present two Lifetime Achievement awards to honor two musicians who everyone associates with the Olympic Ball — Hachig Kazarian and John Berberian.
Kazarian and Berberian have enthralled generations of AYFers, inspiring them to get up and dance. They have inspired so many to play the oud, clarinet, kanun, keyboard, guitar and dumbeg to experience the kind of magic these two and their fellow musicians have created for more than six decades. When Kazarian, who was not booked for the Olympic Ball, sat in to play the haleh for the Detroit chapter dance, the crowd in front of stage was five rows deep with cell phones recording his masterful performance.
The Olympic Ball is much more than the awards ceremony and dance. It is the culmination of the weekend. It is where everyone dances and celebrates into the wee hours of the morning. It is where every AYFer cheers for every accomplishment that is announced and cheers even louder when it is their own chapter. It is where every alumni heart melts with each cheer of the current generation of AYFers and the exuberance of each chapter dance. Everyone feels good about where these young people have brought the organization — and everyone celebrates coming together with this feeling — the AYF spirit.
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