Hamza Yerlikaya
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Nationality | Turkish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Kadıköy,Istanbul,Turkey | June 6, 1976|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Sport wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Greco-Roman wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Istanbul BB SK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turned pro | 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Hamza Yerlikaya(born June 6, 1976, inKadıköy,Istanbul) is a TurkishGraeco-Romanstylewrestler.[1]He is a two-time (in1996and2000)Olympicchampion, three-timeWorld Champion(1993, 1995, and 2005), and the first Turkish wrestler to become European champion a record eight times, a feat that has since been matched byRıza Kayaalp.[2]He was ranked third in a list of all-time-best wrestlers by theInternational Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles(FILA).[3]
A sports complex inGaziosmanpaşadistrict of Istanbul is named after him.
Early life
[edit]His family was originally fromSivas,but they moved toIstanbulthree months prior to Hamza's birth. His father Mustafa Yerlikaya is also a wrestler but was no longer active by the time Hamza was born. He started wrestling aged 11 encouraged by his father and inspired by his elder brother Muttalip Yerlikaya who is also a wrestler with international success.[4]
International wrestling career
[edit]Hamza Yerlikaya's first international competition was in 1991 World Cadets Wrestling Championships inQuebec,Canada, in which he got the fourth place. His first senior international event was the1993 European Wrestling Championshipsin Istanbul where he got the second place, losing toThomas Zanderin the finals. He surprised some of the spectators who thought this was a coincidence by winning the gold medal in1993 World Wrestling ChampionshipsinStockholm,Swedenat the age of 17, and hence becoming the youngest ever World Champion in wrestling.
As his age allowed, in some years he participated in seniors, juniors as well as cadets events. He won the World Championship again in 1995 and went on to win his first Olympicgold medalinAtlanta 1996at the age of 20. Yerlikaya competed in every category in Greco-Roman wrestling championships both domestically and internationally thanks to his young age. He continued collecting medals, most of which were gold. Besides, he was officially working for the State Railways, which meant that he received a salary for his wrestling. Yerlikaya joined the army to fulfill his military duty in 1996, during which he attended the Atlanta Olympics in Georgia, U.S. and won the gold medal in the 82-kilogram weight category. This also meant another record since no other soldier has ever won a gold medal in a civil championship.[3]He repeated his success four years later inSydney 2000and carried the flag for Turkey at the Sydney 2000 opening ceremony. Since then he has won three more World Championships (2002, 2003 and (at 96 kg) 2005). He has won the European Seniors Championship eight times (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006).
He competed in84 kg Men's Greco-Roman Wrestlingfor Turkey in2004 Summer Olympic GamesinAthens,Greeceand placed 4th.
Hamza Yerlikaya married Ebru Küçük in 2010, and they have two children. Yerlikaya quit wrestling in 2007 due to severe neck fractures. In the same year, he was elected as a Member of Parliament from Sivas province for the Justice and Development Party. Yerlikaya worked as a consultant in the General Director's Office for Youth and Sports, and he was also a member of the Turkish International Olympic Committee (IOC). He managed the Turkish Wrestling Federation as chairman before resigning in 2015. He is now one of the head consultants of the Presidency of the Turkish Republic.[3]
Affiliations and coaching
[edit]- Between years 1986-1996 he was inIstanbul Demirsporclub and was coached bySalih Boraand Muzaffer Aydın.
- He did hismilitary servicein 1996-1997 and is the only Turkish athlete that won a medal in Olympic Games during military service.
- He was coached bySalih Borasince 1997.
- In years 1998-1999 he was inEmlakbankclub.
- Since 1999 he is wrestling forIstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
- Hakki Basar started coaching him in 2004.
Personal chronology
[edit]- 1986: Begins wrestling at age of eleven
- 1991: Places fourth in first international competition, World Cadets Wrestling Championships in Quebec, Canada
- 1993: Wins gold medal in World Wrestling Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, at age seventeen; breaks record for youngest champion ever
- 1996: Wins first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta Olympics
- 2000: Wins second Olympic gold medal in Sydney, Australia
- 1996–2006: Wins eight European championships
- 2007: Withdraws from international competition to undergo neck surgery[5]
Major international achievements
[edit]In reverse chronological order:
- 2006European ChampionshipinMoscow,Russia- gold (96 kg)
- 2006 World Cup inBudapest,Hungary- gold (96 kg)
- 2005 World Championship inBudapest,Hungary- gold (96 kg)
- 2005 European Championship inVarna,Bulgaria- gold (96 kg)
- 2004OlympicsinAthens,Greece- 4th (84 kg)
- 2003 World Championship inCréteil, ParisinFrance- 7th (84 kg)
- 2002 World Cup inCairo,Egypt- silver (96 kg)
- 2002 World Championship inMoscowinRussia- 6th (84 kg)
- 2002 European Championship inSeinäjoki,Finland- gold (84 kg)
- 2001 World Championship inPatrasinGreece- 9th (85 kg)
- 2001 World Cup inLevallois-Perret, Paris,France- 5th (97 kg)
- 2001 European Championship inIstanbul,Turkey- gold (85 kg)
- 2000OlympicsinSydney,Australia- gold (85 kg)
- 1999 World Championship inAthens,Greece- 21st (85 kg)
- 1999 European Championship inSofia,Bulgaria- gold (85 kg)
- 1998 World Championship inGävle,Sweden- 5th (85 kg)
- 1998 European Championship inMinsk,Belarus- gold (85 kg)
- 1997 World Cup inTehran,Iran- gold (85 kg)
- 1997 World Championship inWrocław,Poland- silver (85 kg)
- 1997 Mediterranean Gamesin Bari,Italy- gold (85 kg)
- 1997 European Championship inKouvola,Finland- gold (85 kg)
- 1996OlympicsinAtlanta, Georgia,U.S.- gold (82 kg)
- 1996 European Championship inBudapest,Hungary- gold (82 kg)
- 1995 World Championship inPrague,Czech Republic- gold (82 kg)
- 1995 World Espoir Championship inTehran,Iran- bronze (82 kg)
- 1995 European Championship inBesançon,France- 7th (82 kg)
- 1994 World Championship inTampere,Finland- 12th (82 kg)
- 1994 World Juniors Championship inBudapest,Hungary- gold (88 kg)
- 1994 European Espoir Championship inIstanbul,Turkey- gold (82 kg)
- 1994 European Championship inAthens,Greece- 5th (82 kg)
- 1993 World Championship inStockholm,Sweden- gold (82 kg)
- 1993 European Juniors Championship inGötzis,Austria- gold (81 kg)
- 1993 European Championship inIstanbul,Turkey- silver (82 kg)
- 1993 Mediterranean GamesinLanguedoc-Roussillon,France- bronze (82 kg)
- 1992 World Cadets Championship inIstanbul,Turkey- gold (76 kg)
- 1992 World Juniors Championship inSantiago de Cali,Colombia- silver (74 kg)
- 1991 World Cadets Championship inAlma, Quebec,Canada - 4th (65 kg)
All listed events are Greco-Roman style wrestling.
References
[edit]- ^"International Wrestling Database".Whatsmat.uww.org.Retrieved11 February2022.
- ^"Hamza Yerlikaya".Olympics.com.Retrieved11 February2022.
- ^abc"Hamza Yerlikaya: The invincible".Daily Sabah.19 March 2016.
- ^"Hamza Yerlikaya:Ömrüm minderde geçiyor".Hurriyet.com.tr.
- ^"Yerlikaya, Hamza (1976–)".Encyclopedia.com.Retrieved11 February2022.
External links
[edit]- Hamza Yerlikayaat the International Wrestling Database
- Hamza YerlikayaatOlympics.com
- Hamza YerlikayaatOlympedia
- 1976 births
- Sportspeople from Istanbul
- Living people
- Turkish sportsperson-politicians
- Olympic gold medalists for Turkey
- Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Turkish male sport wrestlers
- Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians
- Deputies of Sivas
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Olympic wrestlers for Turkey
- People from Kadıköy
- Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey
- Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey
- Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Turkey
- Competitors at the 1993 Mediterranean Games
- Competitors at the 1997 Mediterranean Games
- Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling
- 20th-century Turkish people
- 21st-century Turkish people