TURKISH SPORT HEROES

Turkey has many sport heroes in various sport branches. They were very successful in their sport career. Some of them retired, and some of them goes on adding successes to their career. By winning many medals and cups in the olympics and in some other international tournaments, they made Turkish people happy and proud. Here we want to introduce 7 of them. It wasn’t easy to eleminate them into 7. We tried to select them in various branches. Let’s take a look..

NAİM SÜLEYMANOĞLU weightlifting

Naim Süleymanoğlu (born January 23, 1967 in Bulgaria), formerly known as Naim Suleimanov, is a Turkish World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting. He won three Olympic Championships, seven World Championships and six European Championships and earned 46 world records.

Competitor for Turkey

Olympic Games

Gold 1988 Seoul -60 kg

Gold 1992 Barcelona -60 kg

Gold 1996 Atlanta -64 kg

World ChampionshipsTotal

Gold 1989 Athens -60 kg

Gold 1991 Donaueschingen -60 kg

Gold 1993 Melbourne 64 kg

Gold 1994 Istanbul -64 kg

Gold 1995 Guangzhou -64 kg

Competitor for Bulgaria

World ChampionshipsTotal

Gold 1985 Södertälje -60 kg

Gold 1986 Sofia -60 kg

Silver 1983 Moscow -56 kg

He was nicknamed "The Pocket Hercules" due to his small stature (1.47 meters). He is the second of only seven lifters to lift three times their bodyweight. Süleymanoğlu set his first world record at the age 16.

HALİL MUTLU weightlifting

Halil Mutlu (born in 1973 in Bulgaria) is a Turkish World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting. He is one of only four weightlifters to have won three consecutive gold medals at Olympic Games. He won five World Championships, nine European Championships and broke more than 20 world records at 52 kg (115 lb), 54 kg (119 lb) and 56 kg (123 lb) combined.

Medal record

Halil Mutlu

Competitor for Turkey

Men’s Weightlifting

Olympic Games

Gold 1996 Atlanta – 56 kg

Gold 2000 Sydney – 56 kg

Gold 2004 Athens – 56 kg

World Championships

Silver 1993 Melbourne – 54 kg

Gold 1994 Istanbul – 54 kg

Gold 1998 Lahti – 56 kg

Gold 1999 Athens – 56 kg

Gold 2001 Antalya – 56 kg

Gold 2003 Vancouver – 62 kg

European Championships

Gold 1999 La Coruña – 56 kg

Gold 2000 Sofia – 56 kg

Gold 2001 Trencin – 56 kg

Gold 2003 Loutraki – 62 kg

Gold 2005 Sofia – 62 kg

Gold 2008 Lignano Sabbiadoro

– 56 kg

Only 1.50 meters tall, Mutlu followed in the footsteps of his compatriot weightlifter Nain Süleymanoğlu. Like his idol, Mutlu grew up a member of theTurkish minority in Bulgaria, profited from excellent coaching there and then moved to Turkey, where he took a new name ("Mutlu" means happy in Turkish). Arriving at the age of 16, he soon began setting records and winning titles for his new country.

HİDAYET TÜRKOĞLU basketball

Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu born in 1979 in Turkey) is a Turkish professional basketball player in the NBA currently playing for the Phoenix Suns. He plays the small forward position, although he has played four positions in his career. He possesses above-average ballhandling and playmaking skills for a forward, and is sometimes used in a point forward role.

No. 19 Phoenix Suns

Forward

Personal information

Date of birth March 19, 1979 (1979-03-19) (age 31)

Place of birth Gaziosmanpaşa, İstanbul

Nationality Turkish

Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)

Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)

Career information

NBA Draft 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16

Selected by the Sacramento Kings

Pro career 1996–present

Career history

Efes Pilsen (Turkey) (1996–2000)Sacramento Kings (2000–2003)San Antonio Spurs (2003–2004)Orlando Magic (2004-2009)Toronto Raptors (2009-2010)Phoenix Suns (2010-Present)

Career highlights and awards

2001 NBA All-Rookie Second Team2008 NBA Most Improved Player

METİN OKTAY football

Metin Oktay (in 1936 in İzmir, Turkey) nicknamed the Uncrowned King (Taçsız Kral) by Galatasaray fans, was a legendary Turkish footballer, one of the most successful goalscorers in Turkey. He was the most crowned (six times) top goalscorer in Turkish League and set a record with 217 goals in total.

Metin Oktay

Personal information

Full name Metin Oktay

Date of birth February 2, 1936(1936-02-02)

Place of birth İzmir, Turkey

Date of death September 13, 1991

Playing position Striker

Senior career1

Years Club App (Gls)*

1954-19551955-19611961-19621962-1969

İzmirsporGalatasarayPalermoGalatasaray

18 (17)105 (103)12 (3)298 (285)421 (407)

National team2

1955-1968 Turkey 36 0(19)

SEMİH SAYGINER billards

Semih Saygıner nicknamed Mr. Magic and the Turkish Prince, is a Turkish professional billards player. He won the 1999 CEB Eruropian three-cushion championship by defeating Dion Nelin He nearly won it again the next year but lost to Daniel Sanchez. He was the first from his country to win that tournament.

In 2003, Saygıner won the UMB World Three-cushion. He's the only Turk ever to win it. That same year, he won the last World Three-cushion ChampionshipSaygıner shares the world record for the highest run in three-cushion billiards, of 31, with Colombian Hugo Patino.

HAMZA YERLİKAYA wrestling

Hamza Yerlikaya (born in1976) is a Turkish Graeco-Roman style wrestler. He is a two-time (in 1996 and 2000) Olympic champion, three-time World champion (1993, 1995, and 2005), and the only Turkish wrestler to ever become European champion eight times. He was named The Wrestler of the century in 1996 by FILA.

Medal record

Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling

Olympic Games

Gold 1996 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 82 kg

Gold 2000 Sydney, Australia 85 kg

World Championships

Gold 1993 Stockholm, Sweden 82 kg

Gold 1995 Prague, Czechoslovakia 85 kg

Silver 1997 Wrocław, Poland 85 kg

Gold 2005 Budapest, Hungary 96 kg

World Cup

Gold 1997 Tehran, Iran 85 kg

Silver 2002 Cairo, Egypt 96 kg

Gold 2006 Budapest, Hungary 96 kg

European Championships

Silver 1993 Istanbul, Turkey 82 kg

Gold 1996 Budapest, Hungary 82 kg

Gold 1997 Kouvola, Finland 85 kg

Gold 1998 Minsk, Belarus 85 kg

Gold 1999 Sofia, Bulgaria 85 kg

Gold 2001 Istanbul, Turkey 85 kg

Gold 2002 Seinäjoki, Finland 84 kg

Gold 2005 Varna, Bulgaria 96 kg

Gold 2006 Moscow, Russia 96 kg

KENAN SOFUOĞLU motorcycling

Kenan Sofuoğlu (born in 1983, in Adapazarı) is a Turkish professional motorcycle racer. He currently competes in the Supersport World Championship for the Ten Kate, Honda. He won this title for them in 2007. He raced in the World Superbike Championship for Ten Kate in 2008, but with limited success.