Ken Topalian
{{short description|American bobsledder}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Ken Topalian
| full_name =
| image =
| caption =
| sport = Bobsleigh
| country = Armenia
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|7|5|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
}}
Ken Topalian (born 5 July 1963) is an American bobsledder.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/98326 |title=Ken Topalian |work=Olympedia |access-date=29 January 2022}} He competed in the two man event at the 1994 Winter Olympics, representing Armenia.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/joe-almasian-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418104423/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/joe-almasian-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |title=Joe Almasian Olympic Results |accessdate=28 April 2018}} Along with Joe Almasian,{{cite web|url=https://www.lowellsun.com/2014/01/26/westford-mans-olympic-experience-was-one-remarkable-journey/ |title=Westford man's Olympic experience was one remarkable journey |work=Lowell Sun |access-date=29 January 2022}} they were the first athletes to represent Armenia at the Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2014/02/18/olympic-flame-still-burns-with-almasian/ |title=Olympic Flame Still Burns with Almasian |work=Armenia Weekly |access-date=29 January 2022}}
Biography
Topalian was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1963. He worked in an auto repair shop in his hometown and attended the University of Rhode Island.
Three years after Armenia had gained independence in 1991, Topalian and Joe Almasian formed a team with the aim to compete in the bobsled event at the 1994 Winter Olympics representing Armenia. This included getting a second-hand bobsled from American Samoa. They both attended the training centre in Lake Placid to learn how to bobsled,{{cite web|url=https://tulsaworld.com/archive/two-u-s-bobsledders-make-armenia-proud/article_1f7458b4-3e59-5e24-9707-672bab24ca5a.html |title=Two U.S. Bobsledders Make Armenia Proud |work=Tulsa World |access-date=29 January 2022}} being trained by Jim Hickey who had previously represented the United States at the Olympics in the event. They could train for three hours each day at the weekend, using a sled from the 1960s. To qualify for the Olympics, both of them gained Armenian citizenship and competed in five international races.
With less than three weeks before the start of the 1994 Winter Olympics, Topalian and Almasian were given permission by the Armenian government to compete at the games. They were the only athletes to represent Armenia at the 1994 Winter Olympics. They finished in 36th place in the two-man event, ahead of seven other teams.{{cite web|url=http://www.accc.org.uk/hitching-a-ride-on-dreams-and-a-prayer-armenias-bobsled-team/ |title=Hitching a ride on dreams and a prayer: Armenia's bobsled team |work=ACCC.org |access-date=29 January 2022}} Neither of them competed in the event since the Olympics, and they had never been to Armenia.
References
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External links
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Category:American male bobsledders
Category:Armenian male bobsledders
Category:Olympic bobsledders for Armenia
Category:Bobsledders at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Category:Sportspeople from Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Category:American sportspeople of Armenian descent