Ruhi Sarıalp (December 15, 1924 – March 3, 2001) was a Turkish

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, who competed mainly in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

. He was born in

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

Background

He competed for Turkey in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

held in

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 ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in the triple jump, where he won the bronze medal with a mark of 15.02 m. He started

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), competitio ...

during his education at the military high school in

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

. In 1945, he broke the Turkish record in triple jump. After his bronze medal jump at the Olympics, he won another bronze medal at the 1950

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He became so the first ever track and field athlete from Turkey to win a medal at the Olympics and the European Championships. Ruhi Sarıalp became champion at the World Military Athletics Championships held 1951 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

by breaking the World record. He repeated his first place in the same championships of 1952. After leaving the active sports, Ruhi Sarıalp served as a lecturer for

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

in the School of Maritime at

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University, also known as Technical University of Istanbul (, commonly referred to as İTÜ), is an public university, public technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...

(İTÜ). The indoor sports hall of İTÜ, located in the

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

district of

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 ...

, is named after him. He was a member of the supreme council of the Fenerbahçe SK athletic branch Fenerbahçe Athletics. He died on March 3, 2001, in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

due to

agonal respiration Agonal respiration, gasping respiration, or agonal breathing is a distinct and abnormal pattern of breathing and brainstem reflex characterized by gasping labored breathing and is accompanied by strange vocalizations and myoclonus. Possible ca ...

, and was buried in the

Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery The Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery (), one of the largest burial grounds of Istanbul, Turkey, is located in the neighborhood of Edirnekapı of Eyüp district, in the European part of the city. It consists of an old, historical part and a mode ...

in Istanbul. He was married with Ayşe Cebesoy, a

niece In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

of the renowned Turkish statesman

Ali Fuat Cebesoy Ali Fuat Cebesoy (23 September 1882 – 10 January 1968) was a Turkish military officer who served in the Ottoman Army and then in the Turkish army and politician. Early life Ali Fuat was born on 23 September 1882 to father Ismail Fazil Pas ...

.Weekly News Magazine ''Aksiyon''

References

External links

* 1924 births 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Manisa Turkish male triple jumpers Turkish male long jumpers Turkish military personnel Olympic athletes for Turkey Olympic bronze medalists for Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Academic staff of Istanbul Technical University Fenerbahçe athletes Burials at Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century Turkish sportsmen {{Turkey-athletics-bio-stub