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The Turkish word for wrestling can be traced back to the Oghuz Turkic languages, which originate from the Eurasian steppes. After the conquest of Anatolia by Seljuk Turks, a form of traditional freestyle wrestling called Karakucak Güreşi (literally "Ground hug") was popularized, where special leather clothing was worn and wrestlers commenced the competition by pouring olive oil on their bodies.
Oil wrestling scene from Turkey. After 12 years, the annual oil-wrestling competition of Kırkpınar moved to yet another location. Since 1924, bouts are held on the Sarayiçi island near Edirne. The last Ottoman sultan was exiled to Malta. In what remained of the Empire, almost everything traditional was replaced or westernized.
FILA Wrestling World Championships were held in Turkey in 1957, 1974, 1994, 1999 and 2011. The Turkish team won the Men's freestyle championship in 1951, 1954, 1957, 1966 and 1994; and the Men's Greco-Roman championship in 2006 and 2009.
He fought with all of the famous wrestlers of his time and gained notoriety throughout Asia Minor and Europe. He became wrestling champion (Turkish: başpehlivan) in Kırkpınar, a traditional oil wrestling tournament near Edirne, Turkey. [2] He earned his title by defeating Kara Osman. [3]
Mustafa Dağıstanlı took up wrestling at the age of 18, having been involved in Turkish oil wrestling for many years before that. He developed into one of the best freestyle wrestlers in the world in the 1950s, but also excelled in the Greco-Roman style. In 1952, he narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Games in Helsinki.
Carvings and statues show that forms of belt wrestling existed in the region since ancient times, in addition to matches between humans and animals. Wrestling is also mentioned in the epics of Gilgamesh and the Shahnameh. Oil wrestling as practiced in present-day Turkey and Central Asia is recorded in ancient Sumeria and Babylon.
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Yaşar Erkan (30 April 1911 – 18 May 1986) was a Turkish sports wrestler, who won the first ever Olympic gold medal for Turkey in the Featherweight class of Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling. Yaşar Erkan is the first Olympic champion in Turkish history. [1]