Hamit Kaplan (20 September 1934 – 5 January 1976) was a Turkish World and Olympic champion sports wrestler of Circassian descent in the Heavyweight class.[1][2][3] He won the gold, silver and bronze medal in men's freestyle wrestling at three consecutive Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's freestyle wrestling | ||
Representing  Turkey
| ||
Olympic Games
 | ||
 |
1956 Melbourne | +87 kg |
 |
1960 Rome | +87 kg |
 |
1964 Tokyo | +97 kg |
| World Championships | ||
|
1957 Istanbul | +87 kg |
|
1961 Yokohama | +87 kg |
|
1959 Tehran | +87 kg |
|
1963 Sofia | 97 kg |
| World Cup | ||
|
1956 Istanbul | +87 kg |
|
1958 Sofia | +87 kg |
| Mediterranean Games | ||
|
1959 Beirut | +97 kg |
| Balkan Championships | ||
|
1960 Burgas | +87 kg |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Greco-Roman wrestling | ||
| Representing Turkey
| ||
| World Championships | ||
|
1961 Yokohama | +87 kg |
|
1963 Helsingborg | 97 kg |
|
1958 Budapest | +87 kg |
|
1955 Karlsruhe | +87 kg |
| World Cup | ||
|
1956 Istanbul | +87 kg |
| Mediterranean Games | ||
|
1955 Barcelona | +97 kg |
| Balkan Championships | ||
|
1965 Yambol | +97 kg |
Born in Hamamözü town in Amasya Province, he began wrestling as a youngster in the traditional Turkish sport Yağlı güreş (oil wrestling). Soon, he switched over to sports wrestling and became juniors champion in the Heavyweight class. Hamit Kaplan was admitted to the national team in 1954 and was trained by the renowned wrestler Celal Atik for his skill. Already at his age of 22, he represented Turkey at the World Championships held in Karlsruhe, Germany and ranked 3rd in the Greco-Roman style.
Besides three Olympic medals, he won many more titles at international competitions both in freestyle and Greco-Roman category. Hamit Kaplan, weighing 100 kg at his 1.90 m height, was a defensive wrestler, who finished much of his matches in draw.
Hamit Kaplan resigned after the 1964 Olympics, because he was no more match for his strong opponents like Hungarian István Kozma, Soviet Russians Aleksandr Ivanitsky and Aleksandr Medved. He was 175 times international for his country.
He died on 5 January 1976 at the age of 41 following a traffic accident in Çorum. He was laid to rest in his hometown Hamamözü. A sports hall with 1,000 seats in Amasya and another small one in Hamamözü are named after him.[4]
Achievements
edit- 1955 Mediterranean Games in Barcelona, Spain - gold (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1955 World Wrestling Championships in Karlsruhe, Germany - bronze (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1956 World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey - silver (Freestyle Heavyweight), gold (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia - gold (Freestyle Heavyweight), 4th (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1957 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey - gold (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1958 World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria - bronze (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1958 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary - bronze (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut, Lebanon - gold (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1959 World Championships in Tehran, Iran - silver (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1960 Balkan Championships in Burgas, Bulgaria - silver (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy - silver (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1961 World Championships in Yokohama, Japan - silver (Freestyle Heavyweight), silver (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1962 World Championships in Toledo, Ohio, United States - 4th (Freestyle Heavyweight), 4th (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1963 Mediterranean Games in Naples, Italy - gold (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1963 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria - bronze (Freestyle Heavyweight)
- 1963 World Championships in Helsingborg, Denmark - bronze (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan - bronze (Freestyle Heavyweight), 10th (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
- 1965 Balkan Championships in Yambol, Bulgaria - silver (Greco-Roman Heavyweight)
References
edit- ^ Şti, Kod8 Yazılım Teknolojileri Tic Ltd. "HAMİT KAPLAN…! - Aydın KOÇ | Düzce Objektif". Düzce Objektif Gazetesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 1 September 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nişanyan Yeradları - Türkiye ve Çevre Ülkeler Yerleşim Birimleri Envanteri". Nişanyan Yeradları (in Turkish). Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Benk, Ahmet Cevat (1 September 2021). "Amasya - Türkiye Çerkesleri (8. Bölüm)". Jineps Gazetesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Governor of Amasya official website Archived 10 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Turkish)
External links
edit- Hamit Kaplan at the International Wrestling Database
- Hamit Kaplan at Olympedia
