Turkish Olympians' long trip to Beijing

Friday, August 8, 2008

WINNERS:Weighlifter Naim Süleymanoğlu(R( and wrestler Hamza Yerlikaya are now two of Turkey's olympic medalist athletes.

Turkey’s Olympic journey officially begins in 1908, when Baron Pierre de Coubertin personally invites a gymnast from Istanbul’s Greek minority to London Olympics. On the opening day of the Beijing Games, here is a brief history of Turkish Olympians

ÖZGÜR KORKMAZ
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

The 2008 Summer Olympics Games officially starts in Beijing today with the opening ceremony to be held at the state-of-art Olympic Stadium, dubbed the Bird's Nest, and 68 Turkish athletes set to compete in 12 different events will be following the path of their predecessors.

A 20-year-old Turkish oil wrestler from Deliorman, now a part of Bulgaria, traveled to Athens in April, 1896. Koç Mehmet Pehlivan wanted to wrestle in the first modern Olympic Games, both to make a name for himself, and to earn a couple of bucks if he could.

However, the Ottoman Empire was not a member of the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, and nor had he been invited, and was forced to head back without having had competed in a single match.

Koç Mehmet was the first Turkish athlete to have at least tried to attend the Olympics, but Turkey had to wait another 12 years before it became officially part of the Olympic Games. Actually, 30 athletes from the Ottoman Empire, one Armenian, 10 British, 18 Greeks and one Jewish, competed at the 1906 Olympics in Athens, which was specially organized to mark the 10th anniversary of the first games, but they were there as individuals, not as athletes of the Ottoman Empire.

Georgios Aliprantis, a Greek from Istanbul's Kurtuluş Athletics Club, finished the 10 meters rope climbing competition in 11.4 seconds in Athens and clinched the gold medal with a world record. His record still stands, aided by the Olympics never again holding the rope climbing competition.

Mulos goes to London:

In 1907, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics and the IOC, visited Istanbul during his world tour to find new members for the IOC. On July 20, 1907, the Ottoman Olympic Association was born and Selim Sırrı Tarcan became the first IOC representative. The first National Olympic Committee, or NOC, was established the following year and was acknowledged by the IOC in 1911.

In 1908, the Olympics were held in London, and Aleko Mulos, a Kurtuluş Athletics Club gymnast who worked as a guide during Coubertin's visit, was included in the gymnastics competition. Although he didn't enjoy much success, Mulos is officially the first athlete to represent the star and crescent flag at the Olympics.

Since the first appearance one century ago, Turkey has participated in all but three of 20 organized modern Olympic Games. In 1920 at Antwerp, the country was not invited along with Germany and Austria for their role in World War I, in 1932 at Los Angeles Turkey was absent because the Olympic team could not afford the cost of the trip, and at the 1982 games in Moscow because Turkey was among the 33 countries that joined a U.S-led boycott over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' invasion of Afghanistan.

First medal in Berlin:

The 1936 Olympics in Berlin is a stain on the history of the Olympics, as Adolf Hitler used the games as an opportunity to promote the Nazi regime and prove the Nazis' theories of Aryan racial superiority. For Turkish Olympians however, it will also be remembered for the country's first Olympic medals.

Turkey's first Olympic medal was a bronze; wrestler Ahmet Kireççi finished third in the 79-kilogram category. Two days later, another wrestler Yaşar Erkan downed his opponent in the 61-kilogram category final to become the first Turkish athlete to clinch a gold medal at the Olympics.

Since then, Turkish Olympic teams have won a total 64 medals; 33 golds, 16 silvers and 15 bronzes. The event that Turks have enjoyed the most success in is wrestling, which is considered as the �sports of our ancestors� in Turkey. Turkish wrestlers have won 27 gold medals in total, 15 silver medals and 10 bronze medals. Turkish wrestling has had some super star athletes, like Hamza Yerlikaya.

Yerlikaya, a two-time Olympic champion at Atlanta in 1996 and 2000 in Sydney, was named �The Wrestler of the Century� in 1996 by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA). He is currently a deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

The Turkish team will again be relying on wrestlers to win medals in Beijing. Exprienced wrestlers like Nazmi Avluca, Şeref Eroğlu and Ramazan Şahin are among the athletes tipped for gold by the authorities.

To prove that �as strong as a Turk� is not just a phrase, Turkey has created a new star in weightlifting, or has at least claimed him. Naim Süleymanoğlu, born in Bulgaria as Naim Suleimanov but of Turkish decent, opted to compete under the Turkish flag starting from the Seoul Olympics in 1988. �The Pocket Hercules" won six Olympic gold medals for Turkey in three successive games. Taner Sağır, and woman weightlifter Nurcan Taylan, both gold medal winners at 2004 Athens Olympics, will try to add to Süleymanoğlu's legacy.

Two medals in athletics:

When it comes to athletics, �the mother of all sports,� Turks unfortunately have a not-so-successful history in olympics. There are Turkish athletes hoping to get a medal at track and field events in Beijing, which would be Turkey's third, following two bronze medals; Ruhi Sarıalp finished third at the 1948 London Olympics in the long jump event and hammer thrower Eşref Apak was awarded the bronze in 2004 at Athens.

One name tipped to achieve this feat is Elvan Abeylegesse, an Ethiopian-born Turkish middle and long distance runner. As a former world-record holder in the 5,000 meters, she will be looking for medals in the 5,000- and the 10,000-meter competitions at the Beijing Games.

The days when a lone Turkish oil wrestler tried to force his way into the Olympic Games are long gone. Members of the Turkish Olympic squad in Beijing should do their best at least to honor the legacy of Koç Mehmet, Mulos, Süleymanoğlu, Yerlikaya, and all those other athletes who have made the Turkish public proud.

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