Among all

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

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 ...

, the most popular one is football. Turkey's top teams include Fenerbahçe,

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 ...

and Beşiktaş. In 2000, Galatasaray won the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

and

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

. Two years later, the Turkish national team finished third in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

Finals in Japan and South Korea, while in 2008, the national team reached the semi-finals of the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

competition. The

Atatürk Olympic Stadium The Atatürk Olympic Stadium ( tr, Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu, ) is a stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Located in the western district of İkitelli, it is the largest-capacity stadium in the country. The stadium is named after Mustafa Kemal Atat ...

Istanbul ) , 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 ...

hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, while the

Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium () (Known for sponsorship reasons as Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi, or Ülker Stadium for short) is a football stadium located in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is t ...

in Istanbul hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final. Other popular mainstream sports include

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Turkey hosted the Finals of

EuroBasket 2001 The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

and the 2010 FIBA World Cup the men's national team finishing second in both events. The national team also reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 FIBA World Cup, and

2014 FIBA World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

. At the club level,

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

(then known as Efes Pilsen) won the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

in 1996, finished second in the

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

in 1993, and made it to the Final Four of the EuroLeague in 2000 and 2001 as the first Turkish club in history. In the following years, Beşiktaş have come out as the winners of the

FIBA EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

in the 2011–12 season with only a single defeat, all stages of the tournament included. Later on,

won the EuroCup title in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. In the following 2016–17 Euroleague season, Fenerbahçe won Europe's highest-tier basketball league, the EuroLeague, as the first Turkish club ever, which was followed by

in the 2020–21 Euroleague season. Turkish basketball players such as

Mehmet Okur Mehmet Murat Okur (born 26 May 1979) is a Turkish former professional basketball player. Listed at , he played as a power forward and center. Okur is known for his three-point shooting and ability to space the floor. In his seven seasons with ...

, Hidayet Türkoğlu and

Ersan İlyasova Ersan İlyasova (born 15 May 1987) is a Turkish professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously played in Turkey, Spain and the NBA Development League. Professional ...

have also been successful in the NBA. Active Turkish NBA players include Cedi Osman,

Furkan Korkmaz Furkan Korkmaz (born 24 July 1997) is a Turkish professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born and raised in Istanbul, and was selected 26th in the 2016 NBA draft. Korkmaz is ...

Enes Kanter Enes Kanter Freedom (; born Enes Kanter; May 20, 1992) is a professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Switzerland to Turkish parents, he was raised in Turkey and m ...

, and

Ersan Ilyasova Ersan is a Turkish given name for males. People named Ersan include: * Ersan Dogu, Turkish footballer * Ersan Erdura, a Turkish singer * Ersan Gülüm, Turkish footballer * Ersan İlyasova Ersan İlyasova (born 15 May 1987) is a Turkish profe ...

. Women's volleyball teams, namely Fenerbahçe,

Eczacıbaşı Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. The group with 44 companies has 11,400 employees and a combined net turnover of TL 11.1 billion in 2020. Group Eczacıbaşı's core sectors are building products, ...

and

Vakıfbank VakıfBank is the second largest bank in Turkey in terms of asset size, established with an initial capital of TL 50 million on January 11, 1954 and later started operating on April 13, 1954. Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih has been selected as the CEO ...

, have won numerous European championship titles and medals.

is currently one of the best volleyball teams in the world, 3 time winner of the Club World Championship and 4 time European championship winner. The yellow-black team is also the most successful sports team of Turkey in International arena with the title of the most international trophy (9) holder of Turkey. Fenerbahçe also won the Club World Championship as the first Turkish club ever in 2010. Turkey Women's National Basketball team won the silver medal in the European Championship in 2011 while the Women's National Volleyball Team reached the 6th place in the World Championship in 2010 and won a bronze medal in European Championship in 2011. Turkish athletes recently achieved success in European level;

Elvan Abeylegesse Elvan Abeylegesse, (also formerly: Hewan Abeye (አልቫን አበይለገሠ, Amharic) and Elvan Can ( Turkish); born September 11, 1982) is an Ethiopian-born naturalized Turkish middle and long-distance running athlete who competes over d ...

winning gold medal in Women's 10000 metres and silver in Women's 5000 metres, Alemitu Bekele winning gold medal in Women's 5000 metres and

Nevin Yanıt Nevin Yanıt (born February 16, 1986) is a Turkish former sprinter specializing in high hurdling. On 29 August 2013, Yanit was banned from athletic competition for two years following a failed doping test in February 2013. After IAAF appealed ...

winning gold medal in Women's 100 metres Hurdl in 2010 European Championship. In 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships Kemal Koyuncu won silver in Men's 1500 metres and Halil Akkas won bronze in Men's 3000 metres. The traditional Turkish national sport has been the

oil wrestling Oil wrestling ( tr, Yağlı güreş), also called grease wrestling, is a traditional Turkish sport, where participants, called ''pehlivan'' (wrestlers) or ''baspehlivan'' (master wrestlers), wrestle while covered in oil. Competitions are held in ...

("Yağlı güreş") since Ottoman times.

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...

hosts the annual

Kırkpınar Kırkpınar is a Turkish oil wrestling ( tr, yağlı güreş) tournament where Pehlivans (wrestlers) compete for three days. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey since 1360. In the finals held on the last day, the first ...

oiled wrestling tournament since 1361. International wrestling styles governed by

FILA Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...

such as

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

and Greco-Roman wrestling are also popular, with many European, World and Olympic championship titles won by Turkish wrestlers both individually and as a national team. Another major sport in which the Turks have been internationally successful is

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

Football

Turkey has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Football has seen a rapid transformation earning it third place in the coveted

. Its domestic teams are dominated by Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, and

. Of these, Fenerbahçe's European triumph came in the now defunct Balkans Cup in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

. Galatasaray has seen success after the 1990s, winning the 2000

and

. In recent years, Turkey has exported many of its players into top foreign teams, including

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and Bayern Munich, among others. As well as sending players abroad, the Turkish league has also attracted players into Turkey. World class players such as

Pierre van Hooijdonk Pierre van Hooijdonk (; born 29 November 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Dutch nation ...

Mário Jardel Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro (; born 18 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most noted for his positioning on the field and his heading ability. He was a legend for Grêmio, play ...

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

John Carew John Alieu Carew (born 5 September 1979) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was capped 91 times, scoring 24 goals for the Norway national team. As of 2023, he has been hired until the end of 2024 at Norw ...

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...

Radomir Antić Radomir Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Радомир Антић, ; 22 November 1948 – 6 April 2020) was a Serbian professional football manager and player. Following a 17-year playing career as a defender, most of which he spent playing at Partizan, wit ...

, Óscar Córdoba,

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Mateja Kežman Mateja Kežman ( sr-Cyrl, Матеја Кежман, ; born 12 April 1979) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Upon playing in his homeland, Kežman went on to play top-flight football in the Netherlands, Engla ...

, Kleberson,

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...

, Zoran Simović,

Frank de Boer Franciscus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the head coach of the Netherlands national team. A former defender, De Boer spent most of his professional playing career with Ajax, winning five Eredi ...

Giovani dos Santos Giovani dos Santos Ramírez ( ; born 11 May 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer. A versatile forward, dos Santos can play as an attacking midfielder, winger, and secondary striker. He is an Olympic gold medalist. Dos Santos began hi ...

Franck Ribéry Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry (; born 7 April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing. Ribéry has been des ...

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F ...

Dani Güiza Daniel González Güiza (; born 17 August 1980) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for UD Algaida. A late bloomer, he made a name for himself at the age of 27, being crowned La Liga top scorer with Mallorca. Subsequen ...

Guti José María Gutiérrez Hernández (born 31 October 1976), known as Guti, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a manager. During his career, he played almost exclusively for Real Madrid ...

, Quaresma,

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of ...

Jô João Alves de Assis Silva (born 20 March 1987), known as Jô () or João Alves, is a Brazilian professional footballer. He has previously played for Nagoya Grampus, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City, Everton, Galatasaray, Internacional, Atlétic ...

, Abdul Kader Keita,

Shabani Nonda Shabani Christophe Nonda (born 6 March 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Burundi, he represented the DR Congo national team, earning 36 caps and scoring 20 goals. He was selected for DR Congo's squad fo ...

Lucas Neill Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...

Lorik Cana Lorik Agim Cana (; born 27 July 1983) is an Albanian former professional footballer. He is currently the Grassroots ambassador for children's football in Albania, named by the Albanian Football Association on 26 October 2017. Cana played in the ...

, Giga Popescu,

Jérôme Rothen Jérôme René Marcel Rothen (born 31 March 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Rothen won 13 caps for the France national football team. He represented his country at the 2004 European Football Champions ...

and many more have played at some point or continue to play in Turkey.

Basketball

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

is also gaining popularity in Turkey.

came in second at the European Basketball Championship 2001 in Istanbul. Turkey also came in ninth at the 2002 FIBA World Cup. Several Turkish nationals, including

Hedo Türkoğlu Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (; born March 19, 1979) is a Turkish basketball executive and former professional player. A forward, Türkoğlu played for six teams in his 15-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA ...

, Semih Erden,

Ömer Aşık Ömer Faruk Aşık (; born July 4, 1986) is a Turkish former professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aşık, standing at 7'2", was sought after by many of the top Eurolea ...

, and

, have played in the prestigious

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, generally considered the world's top basketball league. Turkey's greatest success in international basketball came when it hosted the 2010 FIBA World Cup, finishing second behind the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Hedo Turkoglu captained the national side and made the all-tournament team. Turkey also advanced to the quarter-finals in the 2006 FIBA World Cup, achieving a non-expected sixth place. Turkey reached the quarter-finals again eight years later at the

. The

Turkey women's national basketball team The Turkey women's national basketball team is the women's basketball side that represents Turkey in international tournaments. They have come away from the EuroBasket tournaments with a bronze medal in 2011 and silver medal in 2013. Competit ...

won the silver medal at the

EuroBasket Women EuroBasket Women is a biennial international women's basketball competition held between the nations of FIBA Europe for women's national teams. EuroBasket Women is also used as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women's World Cup and also the ...

in 2011. At a club level, the most successful team has been Fenerbahçe S.K. and Anadolu Efes S.K., the latter having won the

in 1996 and the Euroleague in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

. Fenerbahce currently has the most

Euroleague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...

appearances (5) and was the first Turkish team to win the title in the 2016–17 season.

won the EuroCup title, Europe's second-tier basketball league, in

. Past achievements also include Besiktas'

title in the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. In women's basketball,

won the 2008-09

FIBA EuroCup FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

, finished third in the same competition in 2007-08, and also was runner-up in the 2009

FIBA Europe SuperCup Women The SuperCup Women (or Women SuperCup) is a super cup competition organized by FIBA Europe and contested between the winners of EuroLeague Women and EuroCup Women. History The first edition of the Cup took place on October 20, 2009, and was cont ...

Volleyball

Volleyball, especially women's volleyball is a popular sport in Turkey. Recently

Turkey women's national volleyball team The Turkey women's national volleyball team ( tr, Türkiye Kadın Voleybol Milli Takımı) is formed by the Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) and represents Turkey in international CEV and FIVB organizations. The team is one of the most ...

secured 6th place at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in 2010 in Japan, and won a bronze medal at the

Women's European Volleyball Championship The Women's European Volleyball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). The initial gap between championships was variable, but si ...

in 2011 in Serbia. Turkey's top women's volleyball team is

, which have won undefeated 3 Championships at the

FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship The FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship is an international women's club volleyball competition organised by the '' Fédération Internationale de Volleyball'' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first conte ...

in 2013,2017 and 2018. 5 Championship undefeated at the

CEV Women's Champions League The Women's CEV Champions League, formerly known as CEV Champions Cup (from 1960 to 2000), is the top official competition for women's volleyball clubs of Europe and takes place every year. It is organized by the Confédération Européenne de V ...

in 2011,2013,2017,2018 and 2022 season and the gold medal in both Challenge Cup and Women's Top Volley International in the 2007-08 season. Another prominent Turkish women's volleyball club is Fenerbahçe, which have won the

undefeated in 2010, the silver medal in the

in the 2009-10 season and finishing in third place during the 2010-11 season. Vakifbanksk2018cl

Turkey featured a men's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.

Handball

Yeliz Özel from Ankara is a Turkish handballer considered to be one of the world's best playmakers from women's handball of its time.

Athletics

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

is another fast improving sport.

Süreyya Ayhan Süreyya Ayhan Kop (born September 6, 1978) is a Turkish former female middle distance track runner who specialised in the 1500 metres. In November 2009, she was banned for life by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) due to her second anti ...

set the

1500m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athlet ...

world record in 2003 and

set a new 5000m record in 2004. In

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, C ...

Alemitu Bekele and

won gold and silver medals respectively in Women's 5000 metres and

also won gold medal in Women's 10000 metres.

won first European Championship in a sprint race for Turkey by winning gold in Women's 100 metres hurdles. In 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships Kemal Koyuncu won silver in Men's 1500 metres and Halil Akkas won bronze in Men's 3000 metres. In 2017, Ramil Guliyev of Fenerbahçe won Turkey's first ever gold medal in the men's 200 metre race at the 2017 World Championships, being the second white athlete in history to achieve this feat.

Beach handball

2010 Beach Handball World Championships The 2010 Beach Handball World Championships was a twelve-team tournament in both men's and women's beach handball, held at Antalya in Turkey from 23 June 2010 to 27 June 2010. It was the fourth edition of the event. Matches were played in sets, the ...

were held between June 23–27 in Antalya. The Turkish national team won twice the silver medal at the World Championships in 2004 and 2006, and the bronze medal in 2010. The Turkish women's national team also won the silver medal at the 2004 World Championships.

Fencing

Turkey hosted the

2009 World Fencing Championships 2009 World Fencing Championships was held at the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya, Turkey. The event took place from September 30 to October 8, 2009. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table Results overview Men Foil individual ...

held from September 30 to October 8 in

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

Fishing

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

cannot be done from any boat without a license, even if you're an amateur. You must apply to have one by submitting some I.D. cards and paying a fee 150 Turkish Lira for two years. Details concerning fishing zones, the minimum sizes of fish that can be caught, and the numbers of fish that can be caught per person can be obtained from the Department of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Aegean and Mediterranean seas are rich fishing areas.

Flying

Plane gliding, hang gliding, parachuting, paragliding and single engine flights are catered for as well as services that provide instruction courses. Best areas are

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (). ...

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

, Pamukkale, and

Motorsports

Motorsports have become popular recently, especially following the inclusion of the

Rally of Turkey The Rally of Turkey (also known as Anatolian Rally) is a rally competition on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) schedule. History First international rally in Turkey was held in 1972, starting and finishing in Istanbul. In 1999, the idea of ...

to the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

calendar in 2003, and the inclusion of the Turkish Grand Prix to the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing calendar in 2005. Other important annual motorsports events which are held at the Istanbul Park racing circuit include the MotoGP Grand Prix of Turkey, the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

, the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

and the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

. From time to time, Istanbul and

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

also host the Turkish leg of the F1 Powerboat Racing championship; while the Turkish leg of the

Red Bull Air Race World Series The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a c ...

, an air racing competition, takes place above the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...

in Istanbul. Surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, paragliding and other extreme sports are becoming more popular every year. The track located at Istanbul has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 155,000 people (biggest in Europe), is just over 5,340 m long and runs anti-clockwise. The track was designed by

Hermann Tilke Hermann Tilke (born 31 December 1954, in Olpe, Germany) is a German engineer, racing driver and circuit designer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits. Racing During the 1980s, Tilke competed in touring car racing, mainly ...

, designer of the Sepang,

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

tracks.

GP2 series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

also include a Turkish Team ( Petrol Ofisi FMS International) and a Turkish Driver,

Jason Tahincioglu Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

Kenan Sofuoğlu Kenan Sofuoğlu (born 25 August 1984 in Kuzuluk, Akyazı) is a Turkish parliamentarian and former professional motorcycle racer. He holds a record five Supersport World Championship titles (2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016). Sofuoğlu also compe ...

became world champion in Supersport three times in 2007, 2010, and 2012.

Rafting

Turkey's rivers provide perfect conditions for canoeing and rafting, for both beginners and experienced. Some of the best rivers for rafting are

Çoruh The Chorokh ( ka, ჭოროხი ''Ch'orokhi'', tr, Çoruh, hy, Չորոխ ''Ch’vorokh'', el, Άκαμψις, ''Akampsis'') is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İ ...

, Barhal, Berta, Fırtına, Çolaklı, Köprüçay,

Manavgat Manavgat is a city in the district of the Antalya Province in Turkey, from the city of Antalya. The Manavgat River has a waterfall near the city. The population of the district is 242,490 (2020 census). Geography Between the Taurus Mountains ...

, Dragon, Göksu (Silifke), Zamanti, Göksu (Feke), Kızılırmak, and Dalaman Çayı.

Rugby league

Rugby League is a relatively new sport in Turkey, so far five clubs make up the rugby league in Turkey, observer status within the

Rugby League European Federation The European Rugby League (ERL) is the Umbrella organization, umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football across Europe. In the absence of other continental federations, ERL also controls rugby league in North America (in ...

is expected within a few months.

Rugby union

Sailing and boat trips

Turkey has four bordering seas; the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

, and

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, so it not surprising that cruising is a popular sport. There are many cruising charters available. Gulets are traditional motor yachts and gulet holidays are becoming increasingly popular.

Taekwondo

Weightlifting

Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

has been another successful sport for Turkey, regularly relied upon to provide gold medals in the Olympics. Its most famous weightlifters, Naim Süleymanoğlu and Halil Mutlu, are only two of four weightlifters in the world to have won three gold medals in three Olympics, and among women

Nurcan Taylan Nurcan Taylan (born 29 October 1983 in Ankara, Turkey) is a Turkish Olympic, world and European champion in weightlifting. She holds six European and one world record (and tied two more world records). She was banned by the International Weight ...

broke one world record.

Windsurfing

The bays around

Çeşme Çeşme () is a coastal town and the administrative centre of the district of the same name in Turkey's westernmost end, on a promontory on the tip of the peninsula that also carries the same name and that extends inland to form a whole with the ...

Alaçatı Alaçatı is a part of İzmir on the Western coast of Turkey, often noted for its architecture, vineyards, windmills, and sea. Alaçatı is one of the most traditional towns in Turkey, with stone houses, narrow streets, boutique hotels and resta ...

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...

, and

Datça Datça is a district of Muğla Province in south-west Turkey, and the center town of the district. The center is situated midway through the peninsula which carries the same name as the district and the town ( Datça Peninsula). It was a nahiya of ...

peninsulas as well as Antalya have ideal wind conditions for windsurfing. Famous windsurfer

Çağla Kubat Çağla Kubat (; born 16 November 1978) is a Turkish actress, model, windsurfer and beauty pageant titleholder. She is member of Fenerbahçe sailing & windsurfing team. She is 5 feet 10 (1.80m) tall. She was born in İzmir. She graduated from ...

Football

Basketball

Volleyball

Handball

Athletics

Beach handball

Fencing

Fishing

Flying

Motorsports

Rafting

Rugby league

Rugby union

Sailing and boat trips

Taekwondo

Weightlifting

Windsurfing

Wrestling

See also

References

External links