Turgut Atakol (10 October 1915 – 10 April 1988) was a Turkish basketball player, referee and sports official. In 1988, he was a recipient of the Silver

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditi ...

. He played for 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 ...

team in Istanbul. Upon retiring, he became a referee, calling many international games, including the Hungary-Czechoslovakia final of the 1955 European Championship. He was the co-founder and president of the

Turkish Basketball Federation The Turkish Basketball Federation ( tr, Türkiye Basketbol Federasyonu, TBF) is the national federation for basketball in Turkey. It is headquartered in Istanbul. They organize the Basketball Super League, the Turkish Basketball Cup and the Turk ...

(1958–1964), director of the organizing committee of the

1971 Mediterranean Games The 1971 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VI Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Izmir 1971, were the 6th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in İzmir, Turkey, from 6 to 17 October 1971, where 1,362 athletes (1,235 men an ...

, secretary general of the

Turkish Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC) ( tr, Türkiye Milli Olimpiyat Komitesi (TMOK)) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded o ...

(1973–1982) and later its president (1982–1988), and member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(1984–1988). Turgut Atakol also wrote a book "''Techniques of Basketball Refereeing''", which was adopted as a guidebook by

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

. He was enshrined in the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...

as a contributor in 2007.

References

External links

FIBA Hall of Fame page on Atakol
1915 births 1988 deaths Basketball players from Istanbul Deutsche Schule Istanbul alumni Turkish men's basketball players FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Turkish basketball referees Turkish referees and umpires International Olympic Committee members Recipients of the Olympic Order {{Turkey-basketball-bio-stub