Taha Akgül is a Turkish national wrestler who has won Olympic, World, and European championships in freestyle wrestling. With the successes he achieved in his long career, he has earned an important place in Turkish wrestling history.
Early Life and Start of Sports Career
Taha Akgül was born on November 22, 1990, in Sivas. He started wrestling at the age of 12, guided by his father. His father was also involved in wrestling. Akgül took a short break from sports after failing to achieve success in the youth and cadet categories. He later returned to wrestling and won his first championship in the senior category.
International Career
Olympic Games
Taha Akgül represented Turkey in three different Olympics and won a medal in all three:
- Rio 2016: Gold medal (125 kg)
- Tokyo 2020: Bronze medal
- Paris 2024: Bronze medal
With these achievements, he became the fifth Turkish athlete to win three medals in the Olympics. In the wrestling branch, he became the third Turkish athlete to achieve this success after Hamit Kaplan and Rıza Kayaalp.
World Wrestling Championships
Taha Akgül won a total of eight medals at the World Championships:
- Gold: Tashkent 2014, Las Vegas 2015, Belgrade 2022
- Silver: Paris 2017, Nur Sultan 2019
- Bronze: Budapest 2013, Oslo 2021, Belgrade 2023
In 2022, he completed the season undefeated as European and world champion. In the same year, he was selected as the freestyle wrestler of the year by the United World Wrestling.
Taha Akgül only won gold medals at the European Championships and holds the record in freestyle in this field.
The years he became champion are as follows:
- 2012 (Belgrade)
- 2013 (Tbilisi)
- 2014 (Vantaa)
- 2015 (Baku)
- 2017 (Novi Sad)
- 2018 (Kaspiysk)
- 2019 (Bucharest)
- 2021 (Warsaw)
- 2022 (Budapest)
- 2023 (Zagreb)
- 2024 (Bucharest)
In 2016, he did not compete in the repechage match due to injury. In 2020, he could not participate in the tournament due to a shoulder surgery he underwent.
Other International Achievements
Taha Akgül also won gold medals in various international organizations other than the Olympic, World, and European championships:
- Mediterranean Games (Mersin 2013)
- World University Summer Games (Kazan 2013)
- World Military Games (Wuhan 2019)
He also achieved championships in the International Yaşar Doğu Tournament and various grand prix organizations.
Paris 2024 and the End of His Athletic Career
Taha Akgül won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics by defeating Aiaal Lazarev 7-0. Following this match, he ended his active wrestling career. Thus, he completed his 21-year sports life at the age of 33.
In the same year, at the European Wrestling Championships held in Bucharest, he defeated Geno Petriashvili to win his 11th European championship and contributed to Turkey becoming team champion after 31 years. Despite suffering an injury before this match, he continued to compete.
Education Life
In addition to his athletic career, Taha Akgül also continued his academic life. He completed his master's degree in physical education and sports.
Career Summary
Taha Akgül won the following medals in total at major sports organizations:
- Olympic Games: 1 gold, 2 bronze
- World Championships: 3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze
- European Championships: 11 gold
He won a total of 22 medals, including 15 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze.
