Riza Kayaalp, a five-time World Champion and twelve-time European Champion, launched his professional Greco-Roman wrestling career in 2005. Following his Olympic Games debut in Beijing in 2008, Kayaalp secured his first Mediterranean Games Gold medal in 2009. He then achieved his inaugural European Championship Gold in 2010, commencing a consistent run of continental gold medals. The following year, he claimed his first World Championship Gold in 2011, notably defeating rival Mijain Lopez.

He added a World Championship title in 2022 and, in 2023, secured his record-equaling 12th European Championship Gold, matching Aleksandr Karelin, and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Riza Kayaalp concluded his illustrious career in 2024. After winning a silver medal at the European Championships, Kayaalp received a four-year ban from the International Testing Agency for an anti-doping rule violation, effective July 1, 2024. This decision led to his retirement from the sport, marking the end of a remarkable nearly two-decade journey that established him as one of the most decorated Greco-Roman wrestlers globally.