 He won a landslide victory in all five fights, defeating reigning World Wrestling Champion Samvel Danielyan, who defeated Nazaryan at the 1995 World Championships final, in the quarterfinals and home country favorite Brandon Paulson in the finals.Nazaryan became an Olympic gold medalist, the first ever Armenian athlete to become an Olympic medalist and Olympic Champion under the country's flag.He was voted the Armenian Athlete of the Year for 1996.