Haydar Aşan (16 April 1906 – 29 February 1996) was a Turkish-American Olympic sprinter. He competed in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. He also competed as a

high jumper The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

, and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. As a teenager he competed in local athletic championships and began amateur boxing. In 1924, at age 18 he joined the professional Fenerbahçe football team, a year later he changed to the

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

football team and stayed there for ten years. In 1931 and 1932, Aşan won second place in the

Balkan Athletics Championships The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games () is a regional athletics competition held between nations from the Balkans and organized by Balkan Athletics. The first games were held in Athens in 1929, and the most recent were being held in ...

. In 1933, he won first place, which was the first time in history Turkey won the gold medal in athletics at the

. In 1938, he moved to the United States and studied graduate school at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. He played on the school's soccer team and became an American citizen. Haydar married an American

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and had two daughters.

References

External links

* 1906 births 1996 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Turkish male sprinters Turkish male high jumpers Olympic athletes of Turkey Place of birth missing Turkish emigrants to the United States Duke University alumni {{Turkey-athletics-bio-stub