Mehmet Çekiç

Mehmet Çekiç (born 1 January 1970) is a Turkish Paralympic alpine skier who competes in the LW4 disability class of men's slalom, standing and giant slalom, standing events. He represented his country, Turkey, at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics.[1]

Mehmet Çekiç
Personal information
NationalityTurkish
Born (1970-01-01) 1 January 1970
Sport
SportPara alpine skiing
Disability classLW4
Event(s)Men's slalom, standing
Men's giant slalom, standing

Private life

Mehmet Çekiç was born on 1 January 1970. He graduated from the University of Upper Alsace in Colmar, France. He lives in France, where he owns and manages a butchers and grocery shop in Barr, Bas-Rhin, France. He has one son.[1]

In 2009, he was involved in a motorcycle accident, which resulted in his disability after his leg was amputated mid-shinbone, below the knee.[1][2][3]

Sports career

Before he became disabled, Çekiç performed weightlifting between 1993 and 1996, and competed at national level in France.[1] He became also a champion.[2]

Alpine skiing was his favorite hobby, even before his accident, due to the proximity of his residence to the mountains. In 2010, he began Para-alpine skiing in France, and debuted internationally for Turkey in the United States in 2013. He is classified as LW4, which is a disability class for Para-skiers with disability in one lower extremity.[1] Çekiç is a member of the ski club in Le Hohwald, Bas-Rhin, France,[4] where he acts also as a skiing instructor.[2] He is coached by French Dany Iselin and Turkish Ersin Beyduz.[1]

Following training in Canada and the United States,[2] after his participation at a competition in Rinn, Tyrol, Austria he qualified to start at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.[5][6] After a two-week camp in Turkey, he took part at the Paralympics with a teammate.[2][3][7] At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, he represented Turkey alone.[8] Çekiç was the flag bearer at the parade of nations of Sochi 2014,[9] and PyeongChang 2018.[1][10]

References
  1. "Alpine Skiing: Athlete Profile – Mehmet Cekic". PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  2. "Mehmet Cekic, moniteur au ski club du Hohwald, participera aux Jeux paralympiques en ski alpin". France 3 Alsace (in French). 30 January 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. "Mehmet Cekic, un skieur thannois sous les couleurs de la Turquie". L'Alsace (in French). 27 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. "Loisir ou Compétition : Rejoignez un Club de la Fédération" (in French). Fédération Française de Ski. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  5. "From the President" (PDF). IFSPT. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. Hecht, Norbert (19 January 2014). "Mehmet Cekic qualifié pour Sotchi". DNA (in French). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  7. "Une demi-jambe qui suffit au bonheur de Mehmet Cekic". L'Alsace (in French). 27 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. "2018 PyeongChang Paralimpik Kış Oyunları" (in Turkish). Türkiye Milli Paralimpik Komitesi. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  9. "Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony flag bearers named for all 45 countries". Independent Sport News. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  10. "PyeongChang 2018: Flag bearers revealed". PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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