HITCHING A RIDE ON DREAMS AND A PRAYER: ARMENIA’S BOBSLED TEAM
by Tom Vartabedian
Published: Monday January 28, 2013
Joe Almasian and Kenny Topalian in Lillehammer.
Lillehammer, Norway – The year was 1994. Armenia was struggling as
an Independent Republic for three years and needed a lift.
The country was still in recovery from a devastating earthquake in
1988 that took 25,000 lives and left another 300,000 homeless.
Poverty and depression was rampant everywhere.
Along came two Armenian-American patriots who excelled for the
Providence “Varantian” AYF and carried the weight of a rented bobsled
on their shoulders — and their nation.
Kenny Topalian and Joe Almasian became instant household names as the
first athletes ever to represent Armenia at the World Olympic Games
in Lillehammer that year.
The pair couldn’t tolerate any more bad news from their ancestral
homeland and decided to “hitch a ride on dreams and a prayer.”
“Bosnia is in the news every day but Armenia is in just as bad a
situation,” Topalian brought out that year. “A million trees were cut
down for heat — an ecological disaster. Things are bad, very bad.”
So the two young men went out and did the unthinkable. They declared
dual citizenship, rented a used bobsled from the American Samoans
and spent thousands of dollars from their own pocket to compete.
There were the 10-hour round trips by car to Lake Placid so they could
learn to bobsled. There were the trial runs in different parts of the
world. Food. Lodging. Uniforms. Equipment. Registration fees. Nothing
seemed negotiable, even the $1,600 they shelled out for the borrowed
bobsled.
“People would ask who was sponsoring us,” Almasian recalled.
“You’re looking at them,” I would say. “I’m sponsoring Kenny. He’s
sponsoring me.”
Those who watched the opening ceremonies that year saw the two
athletes, joined by a small contingent, approach the stadium crowd
with the Armenian Tricolor hoisted high. Over a billion viewers
throughout the world sat before their TV sets and felt the emotion.
They heard “Mer Hairenik” played.
The mission had been accomplished. Where they were to finish was
incidental. The albatross that so plagued the country of Armenia had
been alleviated — at least for one brief interval.
“The fact we followed the American team kept the camera’s eye focused
on this team,” Almasian noted. “Many other countries never got that
privilege, especially the smaller ones. Armenia had unfurled its flag
to the world.”
The determined duo did Armenia proud that year, finishing 36th while
beating out six other teams. Time-wise, the Armenians were nine seconds
from a gold medal won by the Swiss while two American tandems could
do no better than 13th and 14th.
“There was a very small window of opportunity to get represented
at these games,” Almasian recalled. “It took a year of training. We
didn’t officially qualify until three weeks before the Olympics.”
As they made the mile descent four times in competition, the Armenians
were greeted by a host of Armenian flags which gave them an added
dose of pride and energy. They had quite the cheering section,
include those who clearly rooted for the underdog.
Among those watching and counseling was Paul Varadian, another stellar
Providence AYFer who was now connected with the Armenian National
Olympic Committee.
Through his involvement with the International Bobsled Federation, he
figured Armenia had a chance to qualify, provided the right athletes
were found. Simultaneously, Varadian became Armenia’s official
international representative to the Olympic Movement and proceeded to
“arrange” everything at a high level.
“I asked Kenny and Joe to give it a try and they agreed,” said
Varadian. “They did everything right to qualify. They donated their
own time, money and travel to make it happen.”
Armenia’s flagbearer (Arsen Haroutoonyan) was disqualified just
before the downhill exercise due to a misunderstanding so Almasian
and Topalian were Armenia’s only qualified athletes.
“A special accomplishment was convincing the President of Armenia to
allow for electricity so most of the country could see us march,”
revealed Varadian. “We convinced the government that the emotional
lift at such a dark time was worth it and they agreed.”
The trailblazers opened new doors for Armenians, who have competed in
every summer and winter Olympics since then, including other AYFers
like Sonig Varadian and Dan Janjigian (2002) and Armen Varadian (2006).
These days, Almasian and Topalian are on what they call “a chicken &
pilaf tour.” They appeared before their individual community groups
and conducted a presentation at Camp Haiastan. All their talks have
been well received, reminiscent of a hallowed and revered time in
the country’s history.
“Being of Armenian heritage, it’s always nice to see your country
represented,” said Almasian. “I’d like to think we’ve paved some of
that road and given inspiration to others.”
Family and church head Almasian’s list of priorities. He and wife Kim
(Jacobs) have been wed 16 years and are parents to three, Armen, 14;
Meline, 11, and Tamar, 9. All are active at St. Gregory Church in
North Andover where Joe is vice-president of the trustees and building
committee, also handling many a maintenance project that arises.
He coaches his children’s soccer teams, a sport he played at the
University of New Hampshire where he also did track. His 111 points
is eighth on the all-time AYF Olympic scoring list.
As for Topalian, he, too, continues to stay involved as a member of
the AYF Olympic Governing Body. He is married to Medina (Sarafian)
and they have three children, Alexan, 17; Meran, 14, and Shahan, 10.
He still thinks about 1994 with boundless passion.
“It’s funny that almost 20 years later, most people do not know what
we did,” Topalian points out. “Opening ceremonies was by far the most
incredible moment to hear ‘Pare Yegagk Haiastan’ (Welcome Armenia). It
will never be duplicated again.”
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