Recep Çelik (born June 10, 1983 in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

, Turkey) is a Turkish

racewalker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

. The tall athlete weighs , and is a member of the İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyespor, where he is coached by Nikolai Radionov. He graduated 2004 in physical education and sports from the Vocational College of

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Aksaray Province. In 202 ...

Niğde University Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

before he studied Regional Public Administration at

Anadolu University Anadolu University ( tr, Anadolu Üniversitesi) is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey. The university is known for its success in verbal fields such as history and communication. Its Faculty of Communication Sciences is sometimes considered ...

. He is the holder of the national records in 10 km walk (road) and 20 km walk (road). Recep Çelik represented

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

in the 20km race walk event at the 2008 Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He is qualified to take part in the same event at the 2012 Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Çelik won the 20km event of the 2011 Balkan Race Walking Championship held on April 9 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, clocking 1:22.31 and setting a new Turkish record. He qualified for participation in the 20 km walk event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Doping

Çelik tested positive for the anabolic steroid

Metenolone Metenolone, or methenolone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as metenolone acetate (brand name Primobolan, Nibal) and metenolone enanthate (brand name Primobolan Depot, Nibal Injection). Meten ...

in May 2012, and was subsequently handed a two-year ban from sports.

Personal bests

According to IAAF database, his personal bests are: *10 km walk: 40:44 min (2011) *20,000 m walk: 1:23:49.9 hrs (2011) *20 km walk: 1:22:31 hrs (2011)

References

1983 births Doping cases in athletics Sportspeople from Diyarbakır Turkish sportspeople in doping cases Living people Turkish male racewalkers Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Turkey Anadolu University alumni Niğde University alumni Izmir Büyükşehir Belediyespor athletes 21st-century Turkish people {{Turkey-athletics-bio-stub