Hamit Kaplan
Hamit Kaplan ( born September 20, 1934 in Hamamözü, Amasya, † 5 January 1976 in Çorum ) was a Turkish wrestler.
Career
Hamit Kaplan came from the province of Amasya in Anatolia. He started as a teenager with the Turkish national sport of oil wrestling, but soon turned also with the Olympic rings. Even as a junior, he became Turkish champion in the heavyweight class. He wrestled in two styles, Greco- Roman and freestyle. In 1954, he was inducted into the Turkish national team in wrestling. In the coaches Nuri Boytorun and Celal Atik he was master of his subject, the closer on took him to the top. At the age of 22 years he represented Turkey for the first time at the World Championships and finished in Karlsruhe an excellent 3rd place in Greco- Roman style. By the end of his career, he won eleven medals at Olympic Games, World and European Championships. His biggest success was the 1956 Olympic gold medal in the free style in the heavyweight class. Hamit Kaplan weighed in at a size of 1.90 m only 100 kg. For this reason, he struggled after 1961, as a weight classification has been made, even in the light heavyweight (up to 97 kg body weight). He was a very bulky wrestler who preferred defensive style. This was also, when in 1957 a temporary "Draw" has been introduced. No other top wrestlers wrestled henceforth as often " draw " as Hamit Kaplan. Against the German world class wrestler Wilfried Dietrich he wrestled at international championships eight times, won once, lost twice and rang five times against Dietrich "Draw". Nevertheless, he was one of the most successful heavyweight wrestler who the opponents were, however, in the 1960s in Iwanizki Alexander, Alexander Medved and István Kozma grown up, he could not defeat.
After the Olympic Games in 1964 so he resigned. He worked as a businessman, but died aged only 42 years. For his contributions to the sport wrestler he was taken in September 2011 in the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
International success
(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, F = Freestyle, S = Heavy weight up to 1961 over 87 kg body weight, after 1961 over 97 kg body weight, Hs = light heavyweight from 1962-97 kg body weight)