Obituary

Olympic champ Ogan passes away at 89

Friday, April 29, 2022 - 12:07 By United World Wrestling Press

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COSIER-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 29) --- İsmail OGAN (TUR), the two-time Olympic medalist and 1964 Tokyo Olympic champion, passed away earlier this week. He was 89 years old.

Ogan was born on March 5, 1933, in the Macun Village, Aksu District of Antalya, Turkey. He began his storied wrestling career in 1950 under the tutelage of trainers Yaşar DOGU (TUR) and Celal ATIK (TUR).

Olgan quickly made a name for himself in the wrestling world, winning three world medals and gold and silver medals at the Olympic Games. He started his impressive international career with a silver-medal finish at the 1957 Istanbul World Championships. Two years later, he won a second medal on the world stage, claiming bronze at the 1959 Tehran World Championships.

A year later, Olgan won a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games after falling to American Douglas BLUGAUGH in the 73kg finals. But Olgan saved his most impressive performance for the final competition of his career, the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He defeated two-time world champion Guliko SAGARADZE (USSR) and improved his Rome Olympic silver to a Tokyo Olympic gold.

After retiring from wrestling following the 1964 Games, Olgan continued to give back to the wrestling community by coaching young Turkish athletes.

#development

Tunisia Conducts Coach and Referee Courses

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 - 15:33 By United World Wrestling Press

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Tunis, Tunisia (12 February)—The Tunisian Wrestling Federation organized two courses to help expand and improve its base of coaches and referees. During a week-long education program, they conducted a Level 1 Coaching Course and an Introduction to Refereeing Course.

The Level 1 Coaching Course was led by UWW Certified Educators Mr. Ahmed KHEDHRI (TUN) and Ms. Marwa AMRI (TUN).

The course was held from February 7-11 with over 50 participants. “It was a great course and an outstanding atmosphere. The group was very cohesive and showed great discipline and seriousness during the course,” said Mr. Khedhri.

"This course focused on providing foundational skills to help them develop as a coach. Of the 51 participants, there were 16 women coaches,“ said Ms. Amri. "This was an excellent course and a very good atmosphere. The women’s participation was very good and included former champions.” 

TUNParticipants from the Coach and Referee Courses in Tunisia gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Before the coaching course, the Tunisian Wrestling Federation organized the Introduction to Refereeing Course.

This was led by Mr. Kamel BOUAZIZ (TUN), UWW Educator and Vice-President of the UWW Referee Commission. This course was held from February 3-5 and had 27 participants (14 women).

During the course, the participants developed their skills as a referee through theoretical and practical experience.

“The majority of the participants were from the Tunisian National Team, so the level of wrestling knowledge was very high," said Mr. Bouaziz. "The group was enthusiastic, and the learning atmosphere was very good. They pushed me to give them as much information and explanations as possible.”