One name to look for in Greco-Roman wrestling over the coming years is going to be Ekrem Ozturk. Enigmatic, but increasingly feared by his opponents, Ozturk is one of several Turkish Greco-Roman wrestlers currently making their presence felt on the world wrestling scene. In 2018, he was ranked the world’s number one 55kg class wrestler by United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport. Later that year, he lived up that ranking when he took bronze at the World Under-23 Championships in Budapest, Hungary, beaten only by Japan’s Shota Ogawa and Russia’s Emen Sefershaev. Earlier that year, he competed in the European Under-23 Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia where he narrowly missed out a top-ten finish.

Ozturk’s first taste of international wrestling competition came in the summer of 2014 at the World Cadet Championships in Snina, Slovakia. Competing against 26 other under-16 wrestlers from all corners of the globe, Ozturk finished a commendable joint-third, sharing bronze with Kyrgyzstan’s Kazakbaev Kerim, being beaten only by Kazakhstan’s Ephap Yernar and Armenia’s Edgar Tamazyan.

In 2020, Ozturk is still seeded the number one 55kg Greco-Roman wrestler, one of eight Turkish wrestlers to currently hold that position in their respective class. The coronavirus pandemic that swept across the world has frustrated the plans and traning of sportspeople the world over, and Ozturk, who was ready to graduate to senior level is no exception. However, you can be assured that over many years to come, this Turkish wrestler will win many more medals at national, international, continental, and world level.