Zeynep Murat Duran (born Zeynep Murat on September 15, 1983) is a European champion

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

female

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

practitioner. She is a member of

İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Murat was born in

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

, Turkey. She studied physical education and sports at

Erciyes University Erciyes University ( tr, Erciyes Üniversitesi) is a Turkish institute of higher education located in Kayseri, Turkey. As of 4 April 2019, a total of 64,194 students were studying for their bachelor's degree and postgraduate studies. Background ...

in her hometown. At age 13, she began practising with the initiative of her father Mehmet Murat, who wanted her to become courageous. She was coached in the beginning for about one year by

Arzu Tan Arzu Tan Sayan (born 1973 in Arzu Tan) is a World champion Turkish female former Taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the flyweight (-47 kg) class, and currently acting as a coach. Arzu Tan was born 1973 in Istanbul, Turkey. She was ins ...

, a former world champion. Murat took part at the 2000 Korean Open Tournament in

Chuncheon Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...

, at which she won the gold medal in the juniors category and was named "Most Technical Junior Woman Athlete". She took a gold medal at the 2000 World Cup in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France. In 2004, she became the European champion in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Norway. She won the silver medal at the 2005 World Taekwondo Championships in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. The same year, she won another silver medal at the European Championships held in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia. In 2007, Murat became again Turkish champion.

Achievements

* 2000 World Cup -

, France - 55 kg * 2000 Spanish Open -

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Spain - 55 kg (junior) * 2000 European Championships -

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, Greece - 59 kg * 2000 Balkan Championships -

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece - 51 kg * 2000 Korea Open -

, South Korea - 55 kg (junior) * 2000 World Juniors and Youth Championships -

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

, Ireland - 55 kg (youth) * 2001 World Cup -

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, Vietnam - 59 kg youth * 2001 World Championships -

Jeju City Jeju City ( ko, 제주시, Jeju-si; ) is the capital of the Jeju Province in South Korea and the largest city on Jeju Island. The city is served by Jeju International Airport ( IATA code CJU). Located on an island off the Korean Peninsula, Jeju ...

, South Korea - 59 kg * 2002 European Championships -

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun reco ...

, Turkey - 59 kg * 2004 European Championships -

, Norway - 59 kg * 2005 German Open -

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, Germany - 55 kg * 2005 World Championships -

, Spain - 55 kg * 2005 Summer Universiade - Izmir, Turkey - 55 kg * 2005 European Championships -

, Latvia - 55 kg * 2006 German Open -

, Germany - 59 kg

References

1983 births People from Kayseri Erciyes University alumni Turkish female taekwondo practitioners Turkish female martial artists Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor athletes Living people Universiade medalists in taekwondo Universiade gold medalists for Turkey World Taekwondo Championships medalists European Taekwondo Championships medalists Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade 20th-century Turkish sportswomen 21st-century Turkish sportswomen {{Turkey-taekwondo-bio-stub