The Wall Street Journal: Houry Gebeshian seeks to put Armenia on the gymnastics map

The gold medal for Armenian diaspora pride looks set to go to Houry Gebeshian, The Wall Street Journal writes.

The 27-year-old physician’s assistant from Cleveland and granddaughter of Armenian refugees, Gebeshian had the meet of her life in what she planned to be her final competition.

According to the source, she is likely to have a skill named after her on the uneven bars—a mount that includes a 360 degree turn to get from the low bar to the high bar—and earning the support of the crowd early on Sunday, finishing her routine by kissing the uneven bars.

The crowd also booed scores they considered to be too low for her on her subsequent performances, and she, in turn, went on to kiss the other pieces of equipment.

“I just wanted to thank the sport,” she said. “There’s Armenians everywhere... It is amazing to meet all these people” online, who supported a GoFundMe account she set up to help pay her way to the Games.
Gebeshian is the first female gymnast to represent Armenia at an Olympic Games and signed an Armenian flag soon after competing. “My goal was to bring Armenia on the map” of gymnastics, she said.