The Day Shavarsh Karapetyan Became a Hero

On September 16, 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, then a 23-year-old world champion finswimmer, was completing a grueling 13-mile training run along the hills near Yerevan, Armenia. His focus was on endurance, strength, and preparation for the next competition. But fate had another test in store for him — one that had nothing to do with medals or records.

From the roadside, a terrible sound split the air. A trolleybus, packed with passengers, had gone off the dam wall and plunged into Yerevan Lake. Without hesitation, Karapetyan sprinted to the scene. Stripping down to his shorts, he dove into the murky, sewage-filled waters, driven by instinct and a fierce sense of duty.

Visibility under the surface was nearly zero. Feeling his way through darkness, he reached the submerged trolleybus. There was no open exit. Time was running out for those trapped inside. Summoning all his strength, Karapetyan kicked through the rear window, shattering the glass and tearing his legs in the process.

What followed was a feat of endurance and courage few could match. For the next 20 minutes, Karapetyan swam back and forth from the bus to the surface, dragging bodies through the jagged window and pushing them toward rescuers. He repeated the effort until his body nearly collapsed.

By the time he could no longer continue, he had pulled 37 people from the bus. Twenty of them survived. Another nine managed to escape through the broken window he had created.

Karapetyan paid dearly for his bravery. Prolonged exposure to the polluted water left him with severe pneumonia and permanently scarred lungs. He spent weeks in a hospital bed, struggling to recover. For many, such an ordeal would have meant the end of an athletic career.

Yet Karapetyan was not finished. Incredibly, within a year of the disaster, he returned to the pool for two final competitions. There, he proved once more his extraordinary resilience, winning a gold medal and setting his 11th world record before retiring from competitive sport.

History remembers Shavarsh Karapetyan not only for his unmatched achievements in finswimming but also for the day when he became more than an athlete. On that September afternoon in 1976, he became a hero — one who chose human lives over his own health, and whose courage continues to inspire decades later.