Yaşar Erkan (30 April 1911 – 18 May 1986) was a Turkish sports wrestler, who won the first ever

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 ...

gold medal for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

class of Men's

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Wrestling. Yaşar Erkan is the first Olympic champion in Turkish history.

Wrestling career

Son of a wrestler for

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), he moved with his family from their village İspidi in the

Refahiye Refahiye is a town in Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Refahiye District.

district of Erzincan Province 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 ...

at 4 years of age. He started wrestling at Kumkapı Wrestling Club and grew up here. His father Ali Efendi was also one of the famous wrestlers of their village. Yaşar Erkan was selected to the Turkish National Wrestling Team in 1933 and won the Balkan Championship in the same year. He also held this title in 1934 and 1935. In 1936, he became the first ever Turkish sportsman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. "You are small, but you have done an important job for the country. Now your name has gone down in Turkish sports history. Long live Yaşar!". The telegram is from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Later, Erkan was presented with a house by Atatürk, and the athlete's surname "Naçar", meaning helpless, was changed by Atatürk to "Erkan", meaning a prominent member of a community. Yaşar Erkan was also a tailor. Erkan died on 18 May 1986. His grave is in Merkezefendi Cemetery in Zeytinburnu.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erkan, Yasar 1911 births 1986 deaths Sportspeople from Erzincan Olympic wrestlers for Turkey Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Turkish male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for Turkey Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century Turkish sportsmen