Celal Atik
 Atik (left) at the 1948 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1918 Boğazlıyan, Yozgat, Ottoman Empire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 April 1979 (aged 60–61) Ankara, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle Greco-Roman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Celal Atik (1918 – 27 April 1979) was a Turkish wrestler and coach. He competed both in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, but had his best achievements in the freestyle, winning gold medals at the 1948 Olympics, 1951 World and 1946 and 1949 European championships.[1]
He was born in the village of Gürdan in the Boğazlıyan district of Yozgat Province, Turkey. He changed his family name from "Doğan" to "Atik" (literally, "Slippy") after a proposal by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, who noticed his speed at the 1938 national championships.[2][3]
After retiring from competition, from 1955 to 1979 he coached the national wrestling team and prepared multiple international competitors. Appointed the head trainer by the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) in Switzerland, he gave lessons on wrestling techniques to sportspeople from all around the world.[4][5]
He is recognized as one of Turkey's best wrestlers, with exceptional technique as well as the most aesthetic physique. In addition to his other honors, he was awarded with the Légion d'honneur of France.[6]
Atik died on 27 April 1979 in a hospital in Ankara. Two sports halls—one in İzmir with a capacity of 1,200 people[7] and another one in his hometown Yozgat—are named after him.[8]
Coaching achievements
[edit]- 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy – champion team
- 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan – 2 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze
- 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico – 2 gold
- 1955–1971 at all World Championships – various medals
References
[edit]- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Celal Atik". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
- ^ "Celal Âtik".
- ^ "CELAL ATİK (Olimpiyat ve Dünya Şampiyonu) | Türk Güreş Vakfı".
- ^ "Celal Atik kimdir?".
- ^ Güven, Özbay. Atatürk ve Güreş (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Celal Atik kimdir - Biyografi.net.tr".
- ^ GençBasket Archived 20 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine (in Turkish)
- ^ Governor of Yozgat Archived 27 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Turkish)
External links
[edit]- Celal Atik at the International Wrestling Database
- Celal Atik at Olympedia
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- 1918 births
- 1979 deaths
- Olympic wrestlers for Turkey
- Wrestlers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- Turkish male sport wrestlers
- Olympic gold medalists for Turkey
- People from Boğazlıyan
- Recipients of the Legion of Honour
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- European Wrestling Champions
- 20th-century Turkish sportsmen