Soner Demirtaş (born 25 June 1991) is a Turkish freestyle wrestler who competes in the 74 kg division. He won the European title in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He was bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics. He is a member of the Ankara ASKI.

Personal life

Soner Demirtaş was born to a butcher father as the third son of five in Çat village of Tokat on 25 June 1991. He is a student of physical education and sports at Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University in Karaman. His three brothers are also sport wrestlers. He was inspired to take up wrestling by his eldest brother Bekir Demirtaş.

Sports career

Demirtaş internationally debuted at the Freestyle Wrestling – Junior World Championships 2010 held in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, where he captured the silver medal. He took part at the 2012 European Wrestling Championships in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Serbia. He participated at the 2013 European Championships in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, Georgia. He won the gold medal at the 2013 Mediterranean Games 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 ...

, Turkey. He lost to Belarusian Ali Shabanau in the round of 16 at the 2013 World Championships in

, Hungary. He won the bronze medal at the 2014 European Championships in

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, Finland. Demirtaş lost to Jumber Kvelashvili of Georgia in the round of 32 at the 2014 World Championships in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Uzbekistan. He became silver medalist at the 2015 European Games in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan. He lost to Narsingh Pancham Yadav from India in the round of 16 at the 2015 World Championships in

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, United States. Demirtaş became a second time European champion in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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, Serbia. In March 2021, he competed at the European Qualification Tournament in Budapest, Hungary hoping to qualify for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, Japan. In 2022, he won the gold medal in his event at the Yasar Dogu Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey. He competed in the 74kg event at the

2022 World Wrestling Championships The 2022 World Wrestling Championships was the 17th edition of the World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held between 10 and 18 September 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The UWW Bureau approved the candidature of Belgrade, Serbia as ...

held in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2023, Soner Demirtaş, competing in the 2023 European Wrestling Championships freestyle 74 kilograms, defeated Azerbaijan's Dzhabrail Gadzhiev 5–4 in the repechage match. He won the bronze medal after his opponent Ali Pasha Umarpashaev, who competed for Bulgaria, did not compete due to injury. He won the silver medal in the men's 74kg event at the 2024 European Wrestling Championships held in Bucharest, Romania. He competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris, France. He was eliminated in his second match and he did not qualify for the Olympics.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demirtas, Soner 1991 births Living people Turkish male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Tokat Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University alumni İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor sportspeople Wrestlers at the 2015 European Games European champions for Turkey European Games silver medalists for Turkey Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic wrestlers for Turkey Olympic bronze medalists for Turkey Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2019 European Games European Games medalists in wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Championships medalists Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in wrestling 21st-century Turkish sportsmen European Wrestling Champions Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Turkey Military World Games bronze medalists for Turkey Military World Games medalists in wrestling