Mahmut Atalay
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Freestyle Wrestling | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Bronze | 1964 Tokyo, Japan | Welterweight |
| Gold | 1968 Mexico City, Mexico | Welterweight |
| World Championships | ||
| Bronze | 1963 Sofia, Bulgaria | Welterweight |
| Silver | 1965 Manchester, England | Welterweight |
| Gold | 1966 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. | Welterweight |
| European Championships | ||
| Silver | 1966 Karlsruhe, Germany | Welterweight |
| Silver | 1967 Istanbul, Turkey | Welterweight |
| Mediterranean Games | ||
| Gold | 1959 Beirut, Lebanon | Welterweight |
| Gold | 1963 Naples, Italy | Welterweight |
| Balkan Championships | ||
| Gold | 1962 Istanbul, Turkey | Welterweight |
| Gold | 1965 Yambol, Bulgaria | Welterweight |
Mahmut Atalay (March 30, 1934, Çorum – December 4, 2004, Ankara) was a renowned Turkish World champion and Olympic medalist sports wrestler in the Welterweight class (73 kg until 1961, 78 kg from 1961 on) and a trainer who was born in Corum, Turkey. He won the bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics in Men's Freestyle wrestling and the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.
He was born 1934 in Çorak, a village of Çorum Province in northern Turkey as a member of a family, which immigrated from the Caucasus after 1864. Mahmut Atalay began wrestling as a youngster in the traditional Turkish Karakucak Wrestling and then switched over to sports wrestling. He was admitted to the national team after winning his title of Turkish champion in 1959, and received training by the renowned wrestlers such as Yaşar Doğu, Celal Atik and Nasuh Akar. He became 15 times national champion. Besides his medals at two Olympic Games, Mahmut Atalay became World champion and won several titles at various championships.
In 1968, he was honored by the International Wrestling Federation FILA with the award "Most Technical Wrestler of the World".[1] He retired from the active sports in 1968 after having represented his country more than 150 times successfully at international competitions, and served then for 16 more years as the trainer of the national team.
Mahmut Atalay died on December 4, 2004 in Ankara following a heart attack. He was survived by his wife Perihan and three children.
Achievements
- 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut, Lebanon - gold
- 1961 World Champipnships in Tokyo, Japan - 4 th
- 1962 Balkan Championships in Istanbul, Turkey - gold
- 1963 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria - bronze
- 1963 Mediterranean Games in Naples, Italy - gold
- 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan - bronze
- 1965 World Championships in Manchester, England - silver
- 1965 Balkan Championships in Yambol, Bulgaria - gold
- 1966 European Championships in Karlsruhe, Germany - silver
- 1966 World Championships in Toledo, Ohio, U.S. - gold
- 1967 World Championships in New Delhi, India - 4th
- 1967 European Championships in Istanbul, Turkey - silver
- 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico - gold
Notes
- ↑ Wrestling File (Turkish)
References
- Olympics Database
- Who is who (Turkish)