Akgül at the 2016 Olympics
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Personal information | |
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Nationality | Turkish |
Born |
Sivas, Turkey |
November 22, 1990
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) |
Weight | 125 kg (276 lb; 19.7 st) |
Sport | |
Sport | Wrestling |
Event(s) | Freestyle |
Club | Aski Spor Kulübü, Ankara |
Turned pro | 2010 |
Coached by | Abdullah Çakmak Ibrahim Akgun (national) |
Taha Akgül (born November 22, 1990 in Sivas, Turkey) is an Olympic, World and European champion Turkish freestyle wrestler competing in the 125 kg division. He is a student of physical education and sports at the Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University in Karaman.
Akgül took up wrestling in 2003 following his father and brother. He won the gold medal at the 40th Yaşar Doğu International Wrestling Tournament held in 2012. At the 2012 European Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia, Taha Akgül became champion in his weight category.
He qualified for the 2012 Olympics. He did not advance to quarterfinal after losing to Bilyal Makhov from Russia in the round of 16. At the 2012 World University Wrestling Championships held in Kuortane, Finland, he became gold medalist in his weight class.
Taha Akgül defended his European champion title at the 2013 European Wrestling Championships held in Tbilisi, Georgia. He won the bronze medal at the 2013 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
In 2014 and 2015 he won the world title in the 125 kg division. In 2014 he selected as Best Wrestler of the Year by the Turkish Wrestling Federation. He won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics winning Komeil Ghasemi in the final.