Ahmet Kireççi (aka Ahmet Mersinli, 27 October 1914 in

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

– 17 August 1978 in

, Turkey), was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

sports wrestler, who won the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medal twice, the bronze medal in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

class of Men's

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Wrestling at the 1936 Olympics and the gold medal in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

class of Men's

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

category at the 1948 Olympics. Born in the southern city of Mersin, he began first boxing and then continued in athletics. He switched over to wrestling and took part in a

yağlı güreş Oil wrestling (), also called Turkish oil wrestling, is the national sport of Turkey. Oil wrestling includes oil and traditional dress, and its rules are comparable to karakucak. In Assyria, ancient Egypt, and Babylonia, oil wrestling was perfo ...

(oil wrestling) competition in Tarsus, where he became champion. Ahmet Kireççi was sent to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to join the Wrestling Club of Kumkapı. In 1931, he was admitted to the national team, of which he was a member 17 years long. At 18 years of age, he became Balkan champion, a title he repeated twice more. With his bronze medal gathered at the

1936 Summer Olympic Games The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

, he was the debut Turkish freestyle wrestler medallist and be an Olympic medallist in both wrestling styles. Following President

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...

's suggestion at a reception after his return, Ahmet Kireççi accepted to change his family name officially to Mersinli, which was his nickname. He died on 17 August 1978, following a traffic accident in his hometown. A statue of him erected in a corner near the harbour of Mersin commemorates the successful and popular wrestler.Turkish Class
/ref>

Achievements

* 1932 Balkan Championships - gold * 1936

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

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, Germany - bronze (Freestyle Middleweight) * 1937 World Championships - bronze * 1940 Balkan Championships - gold * 1948

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England - gold (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)

Notes

References

Olympics Database

Yumuktepe

External links

* 1914 births 1979 deaths Sportspeople from Mersin Olympic wrestlers for Turkey Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Turkish male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for Turkey Olympic bronze medalists for Turkey Road incident deaths in Turkey Olympic medalists in wrestling Burials at Mersin Cemetery Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century Turkish sportsmen {{Turkey-Olympic-medalist-stub