Mehmet Oktav
Encyclopedia
Mehmet Oktav was a Turkish
sports wrestler
, who became Olympic
gold medalist for Turkey in the Featherweight
class of Men's Greco-Roman
Wrestling in 1948.
He began his sports career as a football player in 1942, switched over, however, to wrestling afterwards. He won the gold medal in the 1948 Olympics in 62 kg class as the second Turkish wrestler after Yaşar Erkan
. Before retiring in 1953, he competed 13 times in the national team. Mehmet Oktav served then in some sports clubs and in the national team 17 years long as a trainer.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
sports wrestler
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
, who became Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medalist for Turkey in the Featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
class of Men's Greco-Roman
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
Wrestling in 1948.
He began his sports career as a football player in 1942, switched over, however, to wrestling afterwards. He won the gold medal in the 1948 Olympics in 62 kg class as the second Turkish wrestler after Yaşar Erkan
Yasar Erkan
Yaşar Erkan was a Turkish sports wrestler, who became Olympic gold medalist for Turkey in the Featherweight class of Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling....
. Before retiring in 1953, he competed 13 times in the national team. Mehmet Oktav served then in some sports clubs and in the national team 17 years long as a trainer.