Nationality Turkish Alma mater Aksaray University Sport Sport wrestling Role Olympic athlete Weight 120 kg Coached by Mehmet Akif Pirim | Country Turkey Name Riza Kayaalp Height 1.81 m Education Aksaray University | |
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Similar People Mijain Lopez, Taha Akgul, Hamza Yerlikaya, Heiki Nabi, Johan Magnus Euren |
130 kg finals riza kayaalp tur vs mijain lopez cub
Rıza Kayaalp ([ɾɯˈza kajaˈaɫp]; born 10 October 1989 in Yozgat) is a world and European champion Turkish wrestler competing in the 120 kg division of Greco-Roman wrestling. Currently, he is a student of physical education and sports at the Aksaray University.
Contents
- 130 kg finals riza kayaalp tur vs mijain lopez cub
- Olympic games 2012 greco roman 120kg cub mijain lopez nu ez vs tur riza kayaalp
- Controversy
- References

He won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling (men's 120 kg division) at the 2009 Mediterranean Games. He is also a world champion, beating Mijaín López on the finals of the 2011 World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Rıza Kayaalp qualified for participation at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he won bronze medal at Greco-Roman style in 120 kg.

He was the flag bearer of Turkey at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Mediterranean Games held on June 20 in Mersin.

Olympic games 2012 greco roman 120kg cub mijain lopez nu ez vs tur riza kayaalp
Controversy
Kayaalp was given an immediate suspension of six months by the FILA judge for racist remarks against Armenians and Greeks in August 2013, notably missing the 2013 Wrestling World Championships. He had targeted Greeks and Armenians in his tweets posted about the Gezi Park protests, advocating that “Armenians” were at the root of the Gezi protests in a series of tweets he later deleted after a reaction from the media. His tweets included: “You just leave the streets to Armenians, you f**ing looters” and “F**k you traitors”. FILA President Nenad Lalovic stated that he was shocked by Kayaalp's behavior.

Turkish Wrestling Federation Chairman Hamza Yerlikaya defended Kayaalp and called the ban “unlawful”. Yerlikaya appealed the ban to FILA and vowed to take the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if it was not successful. He claimed the statements were not racist and that Kayaalp was not the one who had written the tweets. However, Kayaalp stated in an interview that he was “misunderstood”, thereby admitting that the tweets were in fact written by him.
FILA later agreed to delay the suspension so that Kayaalp could compete at the 2013 World Wrestling Championships, after which time no major tournaments will take place in six months. Kayaalp went on to win a silver medal at the World Championships.