Raşit Öztaş (born 1920, date of death unknown) was a Turkish

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competed in the men's 100 metres in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. Raşit Öztaş was born in Nevşehir . His father Mahmut was a carpet and peanut merchant. Mahmut and his wife Atiye (daughter of

Hüseyin Hüsnü Pasha Hüseyin Hüsnü Pasha (Modern Turkish: ''Hüseyin Hüsnü Paşa''; 1852–1918) was an Ottoman admiral, who participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars foug ...

) had emigrated to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

from

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

shortly after they married. The family settled in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

and had three children. Mahmut died when Raşit was young and his mother died shortly thereafter. Raşit lived with his uncle for a time and then with a family friend. He finished primary school and started secondary school in Adana, then completed his high school education in Eskiseheir where his brother lived. He had always been interested in sport and became a runner in high school. He began to travel to tournaments with the Turkish athletic team. While in high school, he won the Turkish championships several times and also won the Eastern Mediterranean Athletics Championship once. He then obtained a degree from the Faculty of Foreign Trade and Consular Business of the Izmir University Economy and Trade Sciences department. Whilst studying at University, Raşit continued with his sports career and training without rest and in his last year at university in 1948 he won the Turkish championship and qualified to represent Turkey at the London Olympics in the 100x200m. He was third in his heat in the

1948 London Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. After representing Turkey in the London Olympics in 1948, he returned to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

to do his

reserve officer A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

military duty. Before he started his military duty, his commanders asked him to stay in the military to train successful sports people like himself, but he preferred to go to Gaziler Tepesi where he was appointed as a reserve officer and to do his national duty there. After he completed his national duty as a reserve officer, Raşit Öztaş was appointed to a sugar factory as a manager. When he was in his fourth year of university, Raşit Öztaş married Azize Oztas who was a student at Eskisehir-Mahmudiye-Cifteler Village Institute teachers training school. They had three children, Atilla, Gulden and Ulku, and later three grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasit Oztas 1920 births Year of death missing Turkish male sprinters Olympic athletes for Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics 20th-century Turkish sportspeople Sportspeople from Nevşehir