Ümit Şamiloğlu (born 29 September 1980) is a male Turkish
artistic gymnast and part of the national team. He competes in the horizontal bar event and has won numerous gold medals in international competition. He is said to be the "oldest gymnast" at competitions in which he takes part. He is the creator of a special
grip registered by the
International Gymnastics Federation
The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...
into the
Code of Points as the "Şamiloğlu" grip.
Private life
Ümit Şamiloğlu was born in
Doğubayazıt,
Ağrı
Ağrı ( ku, Agirî; ) is the capital of Ağrı Province in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. Formerly known as Karaköse ( ku, Qerekose) from the early Turkish republican period until 1946, and before that as Karakilise ( ota, قره� ...
, eastern Turkey, on 29 September 1980.
He has a two years older sister.
In 2008, he married Ceren, with whom he has a son, Alkin.
His second marriage was to his long-time girlfriend Sevil Topuz; he proposed to her during the medal ceremony at the
2016 Mersin World Challenge Cup.
Şamiloğlu worked as a teacher of physical education at a middle School in Bolu before he was appointed to a school in Ankara.
Early years in gymnastics
Şamiloğlu began with
artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...
at a young age, motivated by his schoolteacher father, who himself was untalented but tenacious in physical education lessons during this early school years.
The family moved from their hometown of Ağrı to
Manisa
Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.
Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port ci ...
, where his father was appointed. His father encouraged him to start with gymnastics and introduced him to Hasan Onmuş at
Dokuz Eylul University at Manisa. Following a physical examination, Onmuş recommended Ümit to go to
Bolu
Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census).
The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis ...
although he was three years older than the age to normally start with gymnastics sport.
At that time, Bolu was considered the center of gymnastics in Turkey, as the world's best Soviet trainers had emigrated there following the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
At age 10, Şamiloğlu moved to Bolu far from his family, and was admitted to a training camp.
He was inspired by Turkish gymnast Murat Canbaş. He first trained with Turkish coach Dilaver Abdiloğlu and later with Bulgarian coach Jivko Dobrev, whom he credits with shaping his basic techniques.
Şamiloğlu moved 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 study physical education at
Gazi University
Gazi University ( tr, Gazi Üniversitesi) is a public university primarily located in Ankara, Turkey.
It was established in 1926 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as Gazi Teacher Training Institute. In 1982, it was reorganized by merging with the Bolu ...
after Dobrev left Bolu to return to his home. A year later, when Dobrev returned to Turkey, Şamiloğlu suspended his university studies and also returned to Bolu.
Professional career
In 2001, Şamiloğlu won his first international medal, a silver, in the
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
event at the
2001 Mediterranean Games in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, Tunisia.
Upon his return from Tunisia, he realized that his coach had left Turkey again, and followed him to Bulgaria at his own expense to continue training with him. The Turkish Gymnastics Federation later sent him to Romania for a short time for exercise.
Şamiloğlu sustained an
ulnar collateral ligament injury of the elbow at the
2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle (sometimes shortened to Schleyer-Halle) is an indoor arena located in Stuttgart, Germany. The capacity of the arena is nea ...
, which was a qualification competition for the
2008 Summer Olympics. After recuperating, he won the bronze medal at the
2008 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
, Switzerland.
Due to an
Achilles tendon rupture
Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult.
Rupture typica ...
sustained four days before the
2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Olympic qualification in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Japan, Şamiloğlu lost the chance to participate in the
2012 Summer Olympics.
Şamiloğlu returned to active sport by March 2013 at the age of 33, placing fourth at the
Turnier der Meister in
Cottbus
Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...
, Germany.,
He won his first gold medal at the
2013 Mediterranean Games
The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...
held in
Mersin, Turkey.
This also represented Turkey's first gold medal in gymnastics.
The Slovenian world and European champion gymnast
Aljaž Pegan was appointed head coach of the Turkey national team, and began coaching Şamiloğlu.
Şamiloğlu was a gold medalist at the
2015 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series in Cottbus, Germany.
In 2016, he captured three gold medals at the
FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup series in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
, Slovenia,
Osijek, Croatia,
and Mersin, Turkey.
He was a gold medalist in the horizontal bar event at the
2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup series in
Mersin, Turkey.
He won the silver medal at the
2018 Mediterranean Games
The 2018 Mediterranean Games ( es, Juegos Mediterráneos de 2018), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games ( es, XVIII Juegos Mediterráneos) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 Jun ...
in
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...
, Spain.
In 2019, he won two gold medals at the
FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series in Mersin and
Koper, Slovenia.
Şamiloğlu transferred from Bolu Gençlik Merkezi S.K. to Ankara EGO S.K. by December 2019. He captains the Turkey national team.
In 2020, he took the silver medal in the team event at the
European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships are an annual series of artistic gymnastics championships for male gymnasts from European countries organised by the European Union of Gymnastics.
History
Originally held biannually and in od ...
in Mersin.
Şamiloğlu is attributed as the "oldest gymnast" at the competitions in which he participates.
The "Şamiloğlu" grip
Together with his coach, Şamiloğlu developed a special
grip which could be used by high-level competitors in artistic gymnastics.
His aim was to be remembered after he retired from active sport.
Şamiloğlu executed this grip for the first time at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin, Turkey, where he won the gold medal.
He used this grip again at subsequent competitions.
In 2019, his grip was registered by the
International Gymnastics Federation
The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...
into the
Code of Points as the "Şamiloğlu" grip.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samiloglu, Umit
1980 births
Living people
People from Doğubayazıt
Gazi University alumni
Turkish male artistic gymnasts
Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games
Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey
Gymnasts at the 2015 European Games
Competitors at the 2018 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey
Mediterranean Games medalists in gymnastics
21st-century Turkish people