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Turkish Wrestling at the 2026 Europeans: Kayaalp’s Record and 11 MedalsTwo golds, three silvers and six bronzes in Tirana, with Rıza Kayaalp’s 13th European title setting a new historical benchmark.
April 2026 marked a major occasion for Turkish wrestling at the Senior European Championships, held in Tirana, Albania, from 20 to 26 April. Türkiye returned with 11 medals, led by Rıza Kayaalp’s Greco-Roman gold and Nesrin Baş’s women’s wrestling title. The campaign combined a strong delegation-wide result with a historic individual record for one of its leading champions.
This review covers the European Championships completed in April: the medal total, key finals and results behind Türkiye’s performance. Weight classes accompany athletes’ names because each title or medal belongs to a specific event, with a separate podium for every division.
Rıza Kayaalp in a Turkish national-team shirt. Archive photograph from 2013.
Kayaalp Surpasses Karelin’s RecordOn 21 April, Rıza Kayaalp won men’s Greco-Roman 130kg gold, defeating Hungary’s Darius Vitek 7–1 in the final. The result brought him to 13 European titles, surpassing the 12 won by Russia’s Aleksandr Karelin. His victory therefore became a landmark in the history of the championships as well as the outcome of a single bout.
It was Kayaalp’s 15th European final. Reaching the final and winning the title are different measures: he made 15 finals and won gold in 13 of them. Against Vitek, he built a 7–0 lead in the first period before finishing with a six-point winning margin.
His European gold-medal sequence began in 2010. Further titles followed in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, then in 2021, 2022 and 2023, culminating in the 2026 gold. The chronology shows how the record developed over many years: the 13 titles represent his career total at the European Championships.
Kayaalp also holds five world titles and three Olympic medals: bronze at London 2012, silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020. Tirana added another European achievement to that record, while the world and Olympic competitions remain separate categories of success.
Nesrin Baş Wins Women’s GoldNesrin Baş won the women’s 68kg European title on 23 April, adding Türkiye’s second gold of the championships. It was her second European title. The final was decided by injury withdrawal rather than a completed bout: her opponent, Alina Shauchuk, withdrew and Baş was declared the winner. Shauchuk competed under the neutral-athlete designation in the championship records.
The same day brought two other notable women’s results. Evin Demirhan won 50kg silver after losing the final 11–0 to Ukraine’s Oksana Livach. Tuba Demir claimed 55kg bronze with a 5–2 victory over North Macedonia’s Veronika Konsevich in the bronze-medal bout.
Gold, silver and bronze in different weight classes illustrate the breadth of the women’s contribution. At the reception for the returning national team, the Minister of Youth and Sports praised the women’s squad, which had won the largest number of medals within the Turkish delegation.
An archive photograph of Turkish wrestler Cerpiz Papagan facing American Duaine Martin at the 2000 Military World Championships, as identified in the photograph’s original description.
Türkiye’s Overall Medal TotalThe table gives the complete Turkish medal count across the men’s and women’s events after the championships ended. The athletes highlighted in this review represent selected documented results, rather than a full list of all 11 medallists.
| Medal | Number |
|---|---|
| Gold | 2 |
 Silver | 3 |
 Bronze | 6 |
| Total | 11 |
Another Greco-Roman result was Kerem Kamal’s 63kg bronze on 21 April. Kamal defeated Georgia’s Pridon Abuladze 6–2, adding another Turkish medal on the day Kayaalp won his title. It was a separate result in a different weight class from the 130kg final.
A Reception for the Returning National TeamOn 30 April, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak received the Turkish wrestlers following their return. The meeting covered the 11-medal haul, Kayaalp’s new European record and the women’s contribution. The minister also announced work toward a wrestling training centre in Sakarya and discussed preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The proposed centre belongs to a plan announced after Tirana, while the medals and match results are achievements from a completed competition. April thus encompassed the championships, the delegation’s reception and an official announcement of future preparation measures.
Another view of the archive military wrestling bout from 2000. This illustrative photograph is not from the Tirana 2026 championships.
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