Rıza Kayaalp, born on 10 October 1989 in the village of Kavurgalı, Yozgat, Türkiye, is among the most accomplished Turkish athletes in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Kayaalp, who was born in a rural area, was introduced to wrestling during primary school through the guidance of his teachers; his passion for the sport gradually evolved into a professional career. Rıza Kayaalp graduated from the School of Physical Education and Sports at Aksaray University after completing secondary education. He later pursued his master’s degree at Yozgat Bozok University. While advancing academically, Kayaalp has simultaneously built a distinguished sporting career, earning recognition in Turkish wrestling not only for his performance but also for his educational background.

Kayaalp began wrestling in 2000 at the Yozgat Wrestling Training Center. He achieved his first international success in 2005 by winning a gold medal at the Youth European Wrestling Championships held in Tirana, Albania. This victory marked the first indication of his long-term representation of Türkiye in Greco-Roman wrestling.

In 2006, he announced his name on the international stage by winning a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Guatemala. He then captured consecutive gold medals at the European Junior Championships in 2007 and 2008, drawing widespread attention. His systematic success during this period earned him consistent support from the Turkish Wrestling Federation, securing his place as a permanent member of the national team.

Rıza Kayaalp has won a total of 12 gold medals at the European Wrestling Championships, securing his place in Turkish wrestling history. He won his first European title in 2010 and repeated this success in 2012–2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. This level of performance placed him among the most dominant athletes in the history of Soviet and European wrestling.

Rıza Kayaalp has become a five-time world champion. He won his titles in the following cities:

• 2011 – Istanbul
• 2015 – Las Vegas
• 2017 – Paris
• 2019 – Nur-Sultan
• 2022 – Belgrade

He has also won two silver and two bronze medals in various years. These achievements have established him as one of the most successful Greco-Roman wrestlers of all time.

• 2012 London Olympics – Bronze medal
• 2016 Rio Olympics – Silver medal
• 2020 Tokyo Olympics (2021) – Bronze medal

Rıza Kayaalp made history as the first Turkish wrestler to win medals at three consecutive Olympic Games.

• 2009 and 2013 Mediterranean Games – Gold medal
• 2019 Military World Games (China) – Gold medal

He has further expanded his medal collection by representing Türkiye in these competitions.

Throughout his club career, Kayaalp has been affiliated with Ankara Metropolitan Municipality ASKİ Sports Club, one of Türkiye’s leading wrestling centers, which has provided critical support for his international success.

In March 2025, the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced that a sample collected from Rıza Kayaalp in 2024 tested positive for the banned substance Trimetazidine. As a result, the athlete received a four-year ban effective from 1 July 2024. Kayaalp has publicly stated that he believes the substance entered his system accidentally and that the decision is unjust, and has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

National wrestler Rıza Kayaalp won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 130 kg category at the Zagreb Open Wrestling Tournament held in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital. After a long absence, Kayaalp returned to competition, participating in his first official match after 610 days and finishing the tournament as champion.

At the first ranking series event of 2025, the experienced athlete representing Türkiye demonstrated clear dominance over his opponents throughout the tournament. He advanced to the semifinals by defeating American Aden Ikaika Hammar Attao in the qualification round and Georgian Rati Talikishvili in the quarterfinals, both by 9-0 technical superiority. He then defeated Kazakhstan’s Olzhas Syrlybay 4-0 in the semifinals and American Cohlton Michael Schultz 7-1 in the final to claim the gold medal. In all four matches during the tournament, he conceded only a single point.

Kayaalp last competed in June 2024 at the Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial Tournament in Hungary. He has contested the four-year ban imposed from 1 July 2024 due to banned substance use, stating that he took the medication “Vastarel” for tinnitus. Following review by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, his appeal was accepted, and he was cleared to return to competition effective 1 January 2026.

Rıza Kayaalp now shares the record for the most European titles with Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin. 2026 European Wrestling Championships If he wins gold at this event, he will become the sole holder of this record.

National wrestler Rıza Kayaalp, representing Türkiye on the international stage, competed in the Greco-Roman 130 kg category at the 2026 European Wrestling Championships held at the Feti Borova Sports Hall in Tirana, Albania. Competing on the first day of the tournament, he advanced through successive rounds to reach the final. This event marked his fifteenth final appearance in the history of European Wrestling Championships.

At the 2026 European Wrestling Championships, where Türkiye fielded 30 athletes, Rıza Kayaalp faced Armenian representative Albert Vardanyan in the round of 16. Kayaalp defeated his opponent 4-0 and secured a pin at the 78th second to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal, he competed against Russian athlete Marat Kamparov, representing the United World Wrestling (UWW). The match ended in a 1-1 tie, but under wrestling rules, the athlete who scores the first point is declared the winner, allowing Kayaalp to qualify for the semifinals.

Before his semifinal match, Taha Akgül, President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, accompanied Kayaalp during training and personally prepared him for the bout. In the semifinal, he faced Belarusian Pavel Hlinchuk, competing under the UWW banner. With the score at 4-0 in Kayaalp’s favor and the match still ongoing, Hlinchuk struck Kayaalp across the face. The referees immediately disqualified Hlinchuk for unsportsmanlike conduct. Following his expulsion from the tournament, Kayaalp advanced to the final.

On the second day of the championships, during the closing match, Rıza Kayaalp faced Hungarian athlete Darius Attila Vitek, a two-time world silver medalist, for the gold medal. Kayaalp won the match 7-1 and claimed the championship. This victory marked his thirteenth gold medal at the European Wrestling Championships, officially recorded in the statistics.

^{Final match (AA)}

Prior to this championship, Kayaalp had shared the record of twelve gold medals with Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin. With this medal in Tirana, he broke the tie and became the sole athlete with the most gold medals in the history of European Wrestling Championships. Having reached the final fifteen times in the history of the event, Kayaalp kissed the Turkish flag on the mat after his victory and celebrated his championship.

Following the final match, Kayaalp told reporters that he had endured a psychologically difficult and stressful period leading up to the championship. He emphasized that he had faced hardship despite committing no fault and had nearly lost hope. He credited his five-and-a-half-year-old daughter’s prayers for his return to the mat and medal-winning performance as his greatest source of motivation. He stressed that he kept his promise to his daughter by returning to competition and viewed his achievement as equivalent to his Olympic successes. He expressed pride in having broken a record long considered unbreakable.

^{Rıza Kayaalp (left) and Taha Akgül (right) (AA)}

At the medal ceremony organized by the tournament committee, Kayaalp, upon receiving his gold medal, played the Turkish National Anthem. Taha Akgül, President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, accompanied him during the ceremony. Speaking to the press in his capacity as federation president, Akgül emphasized that this achievement by the 37-year-old athlete, after enduring difficult and unjust circumstances, carried profound significance. He noted that Kayaalp had competed under intense stress and recalled that both the Minister of Youth and Sports, Osman Aşkın Bak, and the President of Türkiye had been present at both Kayaalp’s first and last championship victories. Akgül also pointed out that the only missing achievement in Kayaalp’s career remains an Olympic gold medal.

Rıza Kayaalp’s record-breaking achievement in European wrestling was met with widespread congratulations from the highest levels of the Turkish state. The President of the Republic of Türkiye spoke with the athlete by phone immediately after the championship to offer his congratulations. The Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, Numan Kurtulmuş, and Deputy President of the Republic, Cevdet Yılmaz, issued official messages celebrating Kayaalp’s thirteenth medal and his historic record.

Numerous ministers and officials from various state institutions also publicly expressed their support. Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak highlighted Kayaalp’s addition of another achievement to his career. Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, Minister of the Interior Mustafa Çiftçi, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, and Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu all issued congratulatory messages praising Kayaalp for waving the national flag and demonstrating unwavering determination. Burhanettin Duran, Head of the Presidency of Communications, and Ömer Çelik, Deputy Chairman and Spokesperson of the Justice and Development Party, shared messages on social media and official channels underscoring the historical importance of Kayaalp’s record.

Following the 2026 Tirana championships, Rıza Kayaalp’s overall career medal tally has been updated to reflect his record-breaking achievements. In the European Wrestling Championships, he has won gold medals in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2026 — a total of thirteen golds. Adding the two silver medals he won in 2011 and 2024, his total medal count in European continental competitions stands at fifteen.

^{Rıza Kayaalp statistics (AA)}

Examining other major international competitions, Kayaalp has won five World Championship gold medals in 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022, along with three silver and two bronze medals, totaling ten World Championship medals. At the Olympic Games, he has earned three medals: one silver and two bronze. With the addition of the 2026 European Championship results, Rıza Kayaalp now holds a total of twenty-eight medals in major competitions: eighteen gold, six silver, and four bronze.