Mahmut Demir

Mahmut Demir (21 January 1970 in Amasya, Turkey), is a former Turkish Olympic, World and European champion sports in the super heavyweight class. He won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Men's Freestyle wrestling.[1]

Mahmut Demir
Personal information
Born (1970-01-21) January 21, 1970
Amasya, Turkey
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight130 kg (290 lb; 20 st)
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Turkey
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta 130 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1994 Istanbul130 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1993 Istanbul130 kg
Gold medal – first place1995 Fribourg130 kg
Gold medal – first place1996 Budapest130 kg
Silver medal – second place1992 Kaposvar130 kg
Silver medal – second place1994 Rome130 kg
Bronze medal – third place1990 Poznan100 kg
Bronze medal – third place1991 Stuttgart130 kg
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place1990 Toledo130 kg
Bronze medal – third place1995 Chattanooga130 kg
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place1991 Athens130 kg
Yasar Dogu Tournament
Gold medal – first place1989 Istanbul100 kg
Gold medal – first place1992 Istanbul130 kg
Gold medal – first place1994 Istanbul130 kg
Gold medal – first place1996 Ankara130 kg
Silver medal – second place1993 Istanbul130 kg
Bronze medal – third place1991 Istanbul100 kg
World Espoir Championships
Silver medal – second place1989 Ulan Bator100 kg
European Espoir Championships
Gold medal – first place1990 Helsinki100 kg
European Juniors Championships
Bronze medal – third place1987 Katowice115 kg
Balkan Juniors Championships
Gold medal – first place1990 Sakarya100 kg
Silver medal – second place1986 Sombor130 kg
Silver medal – second place1987 Thessaloniki130 kg

Wrestling career

He was born on 21 January 1970 in Suluova district of Amasya Province in northern Turkey. Demir started wrestling in 1984. In a short time he developed into an excellent freestyle wrestler who soon moved to the top Turkish club "TEDAS" Ankara. At a height of 1.84 m, he soon grew into super heavyweight via heavyweight, usually weighing in at around 120 kg. His coaches were Alaattin Yıldırım and Nabi Bayram and national coach Yakup Topuz.[2]

Demir started his international wrestling career at the age of 16 with a 2nd place at the Balkan Junior Championships in Sonbor. From 1986 to 1990 he then competed regularly at the Junior World and European Championships. In 1990, he won the title of European Junior Heavyweight Champion.

He made his senior debut with a 5th place in the heavyweight division at the 1989 World Championships in Martigny/Switzerland. He achieved this place with a 2:0 points victory over Sandor Kiss from Hungary. At the 1990 European Wrestling Championships in Poznan, Demir won his first senior medal with a 3rd place in the heavyweight category. In the fight for this bronze medal he defeated the junior world champion Heiko Balz from the German Democratic Republic.[3]

In 1991 Demir won another bronze medal at the European Championships in Stuttgart, but this time in the super heavyweight division. In a preliminary round fight he suffered a shoulder defeat at the hands of the German champion Andreas Schröder.

In 1992, the year of the Olympics, Demir was runner-up in the European super heavyweight championship in Kaposvár. In the final he was again beaten by Andreas Schröder. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, he narrowly missed out on a medal with a 4th place after losing to David Gobejishvili from The Unified Team and Jeff Thue from Canada.[4]

Mahmut Demir's most successful years began after the 1992 Olympic Games. As early as 1993 he became European super heavyweight champion in Istanbul with a victory over Murabi Valiev from the Ukraine. In 1994 he finished 2nd at the European Championships in Rome, this time behind Valiev , but was able to celebrate winning his first world title at the World Championships in Istanbul. In the final he defeated Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner from the USA 1:0 on points.[5]

In 1995 Demir won against Murabi Valiev in Freiburg and thus his second European Championship title. At the World Championships of the same year in Atlanta, he lost to Bruce Baumgartner and finished 5th.

The Olympic year 1996 was the highlight of Mahmut Demir's career. In the spring he became European champion for the third time in Budapest in superior style and won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. In the final he defeated Aleksey Medvedev from Belarus, the son of the Olympic champion Aleksandr Medved, 3:0 on points.[6]

After this victory, Demir retired from active wrestling. He is now a businessman in Amasya. He is married and has with two children.[7]

A sports hall in his hometown Suluova is named after him, where the 2006 European Champion Clubs Freestyle Wrestling Cup was held.[8]

Achievements

References
  1. "International Wrestling Database".
  2. "1966 yılında Kahramanmaraş".
  3. "A.Ü. Suluova Meslek Yüksekokulu".
  4. "Mahmut Demir Olympic medals and stats". Archived from the original on 2007-03-22.
  5. http://www.egirdirses.com/haber-sampiyon-mahmut-demir-yarIn-egirdir-de-13770.html
  6. "Güreşiyorum portre 14 Mahmut Demir | Güreşiyorum". 11 September 2019.
  7. "Türk güreşçiden ABD'li muhabire yanıt: ABD 70 senedir Türk ve İslam aleminin sırtına oturdu". 18 April 2022.
  8. https://yandex.com.tr/harita/org/mahmut_demir_kapali_spor_salonu/56011207829/?ll=35.661527%2C40.827463&z=16
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