Tevfik Kış
Tevfik Kış (10 August 1934, Pelitçik village, Kargı – 4 September 2019, Ankara) was a Çorum-born Olympic champion who won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Birth and Start in Wrestling
Born in the village of Pelitçik in Kargı district, Kış began wrestling in 1956. His first international success came in 1959, when he won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling at 87 kg at the Mediterranean Games in Beirut.
Olympic Title
At the 1960 Rome Olympics, he became champion in the men’s Greco-Roman light-heavyweight (87 kg) class: after a tie in the final with Bulgaria’s Krali Bimbalov, Kış was awarded gold on account of his lighter body weight. He also competed at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, finishing 9th after losing in the fourth round to East Germany’s Lothar Metz.
World and European Titles
He won the World Championship at 87 kg in Toledo (1962) and Helsingborg (1963), and took silver in Toledo (1966). He was European champion in Essen in 1966.
Later Years and Death
After retiring from competition in 1968, Kış turned to coaching, holding various positions with the national team and the Turkish Wrestling Federation over the years, and running a restaurant in Ankara. He was a founding member of the Turkish Wrestling Foundation and was inducted into the International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.
The official list of the Çorum Directorate of Culture and Tourism gives only his birth year (1934) and describes his wrestling career, without recording his death. Independent sources confirm that Tevfik Kış died in Ankara on 4 September 2019 at the age of 85.
For another Çorum-born Olympic wrestling champion, see Mahmut Atalay.