RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Armenian-American gymnast Houry Gebeshian will be the first female gymnast to represent Armenia at the Olympics, after placing 21st out of 36 competitors and qualifying at the Pre-Olympic Test Event in Rio on April 17.
Gebeshian was born in Auburndale, Mass. in 1989, but obtained Armenian citizenship in 2010 to be eligible to compete for Armenia. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
She was admitted to this final qualifier due to a strong performance at the first round in the 2015 World Championships at Glasgow last October.
Gebeshian has a GoFundMe page (www.Gofundme.com-hootingforhoury) which is already raising funding and getting equipment for the Armenian gymnastic team. She is supporting the existing men’s team as well as working towards creating a women’s one.
