Hamza Yerlikaya
Personal information
NationalityTurkish
Born (1976-06-06) June 6, 1976
Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
SportSport wrestling
EventGreco-Roman wrestling
ClubIstanbul BB SK
Turned pro1992
Retired2007
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 0 0
World Championship 3 1 1
European Championships 8 1 0
World Cup 3 1 0
Mediterranean Games 1 0 1
Other 5 2 2
Total 22 5 4
Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1996 Atlanta82 kg
Gold medal – first place2000 Sydney85 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1993 Stockholm82 kg
Gold medal – first place1995 Prague82 kg
Gold medal – first place2005 Budapest96 kg
Silver medal – second place1997 Wroclaw85 kg
Bronze medal – third place2006 Guangzhou96 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1996 Budapest82 kg
Gold medal – first place1997 Kouvola85 kg
Gold medal – first place1998 Minsk85 kg
Gold medal – first place1999 Sofia85 kg
Gold medal – first place2001 Istanbul85 kg
Gold medal – first place2002 Seinaejoki84 kg
Gold medal – first place2005 Varna96 kg
Gold medal – first place2006 Moscow96 kg
Silver medal – second place1993 Istanbul82 kg
World Cup
Gold medal – first place1997 Tehran86 kg
Gold medal – first place2006 Budapest96 kg
Gold medal – first place2007 Antalya96 kg
Silver medal – second place2002 Cairo96 kg
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place1997 Bari85 kg
Bronze medal – third place1993 L-Roussillon82 kg
Grand Prix of Germany
Gold medal – first place2005 Dortmund96 kg
Silver medal – second place2002 Dortmund96 kg
Bronze medal – third place2004 Dortmund96 kg
World Espoir Championships
Bronze medal – third place1995 Tehran82 kg
European Espoir Championships
Gold medal – first place1994 Istanbul82 kg
World Juniors Championships
Gold medal – first place1994 Budapest88 kg
Gold medal – first place1993 Goetzis81 kg
Silver medal – second place1992 Cali74 kg
World Cadets Championships
Gold medal – first place1992 Istanbul76 kg

Hamza Yerlikaya (born June 6, 1976, in Kadıköy, Istanbul) is a Turkish Graeco-Roman style wrestler.[1] He is a two-time (in 1996 and 2000) Olympic champion, three-time World Champion (1993, 1995, and 2005), and the first Turkish wrestler to become European champion a record eight times, a feat that has since been matched by Rıza Kayaalp.[2] He was named The Wrestler of the century in 1996 by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA).[3]

A sports complex in Gaziosmanpaşa district of Istanbul is named after him.

Early life

His family was originally from Sivas, but they moved to Istanbul three months prior to Hamza's birth. His father Mustafa Yerlikaya is also a wrestler but was no longer active by the time Hamza was born. He started wrestling aged 11 encouraged by his father and inspired by his elder brother Muttalip Yerlikaya who is also a wrestler with international success.[4]

International wrestling career

Hamza Yerlikaya's first international competition was in 1991 World Cadets Wrestling Championships in Quebec, Canada, in which he got the fourth place. His first senior international event was the 1993 European Wrestling Championships in Istanbul where he got the second place, losing to Thomas Zander in the finals. He surprised some of the spectators who thought this was a coincidence by winning the gold medal in 1993 World Wrestling Championships in Stockholm, Sweden at the age of 17, and hence becoming the youngest ever World Champion in wrestling.

As his age allowed, in some years he participated in seniors, juniors as well as cadets events. He won the World Championship again in 1995 and went on to win his first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta 1996 at the age of 20. Yerlikaya competed in every category in Greco-Roman wrestling championships both domestically and internationally thanks to his young age. He continued collecting medals, most of which were gold. Besides, he was officially working for the State Railways, which meant that he received a salary for his wrestling. Yerlikaya joined the army to fulfill his military duty in 1996, during which he attended the Atlanta Olympics in Georgia, U.S. and won the gold medal in the 82-kilogram weight category. This also meant another record since no other soldier has ever won a gold medal in a civil championship.[3] He repeated his success four years later in Sydney 2000 and carried the flag for Turkey at the Sydney 2000 opening ceremony. Since then he has won three more World Championships (2002, 2003 and (at 96 kg) 2005). He has won the European Seniors Championship eight times (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006).

He competed in 84 kg Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling for Turkey in 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and placed 4th.

Hamza Yerlikaya married Ebru Küçük in 2010, and they have two children. Yerlikaya quit wrestling in 2007 due to severe neck fractures. In the same year, he was elected as a Member of Parliament from Sivas province for the Justice and Development Party. Yerlikaya worked as a consultant in the General Director's Office for Youth and Sports, and he was also a member of the Turkish International Olympic Committee (IOC). He managed the Turkish Wrestling Federation as chairman before resigning in 2015. He is now one of the head consultants of the Presidency of the Turkish Republic.[3]

Affiliations and coaching

  • Between years 1986-1996 he was in Istanbul Demirspor club and was coached by Salih Bora and Muzaffer Aydın.
  • He did his military service in 1996-1997 and is the only Turkish athlete that won a medal in Olympic Games during military service.
  • He was coached by Salih Bora since 1997.
  • In years 1998-1999 he was in Emlakbank club.
  • Since 1999 he is wrestling for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
  • Hakki Basar started coaching him in 2004.

Personal chronology

  • 1986: Begins wrestling at age of eleven
  • 1991: Places fourth in first international competition, World Cadets Wrestling Championships in Quebec, Canada
  • 1993: Wins gold medal in World Wrestling Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, at age seventeen; breaks record for youngest champion ever
  • 1996: Wins first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta Olympics
  • 2000: Wins second Olympic gold medal in Sydney, Australia
  • 1996–2006: Wins eight European championships
  • 2007: Withdraws from international competition to undergo neck surgery[5]

Major international achievements

In reverse chronological order:

All listed events are Greco-Roman style wrestling.

References

  1. ↑ "International Wrestling Database". Whatsmat.uww.org. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Hamza Yerlikaya". Olympics.com. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hamza Yerlikaya: The invincible". Daily Sabah. 19 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Hamza Yerlikaya:Ömrüm minderde geçiyor". Hurriyet.com.tr.
  5. ↑ "Yerlikaya, Hamza (1976–)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
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