Mahmut Bozteke

Mahmut Bozteke
Personal information
Born (1997-03-05) 5 March 1997 (age 27)
Şanlıurfa, Turkey
Sport
SportPara Taekwondo
Disability classK44
Weight class61 kg
Medal record
Men's Para Taekwondo
Representing  Turkey
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris K44 63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo K44 61 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 London K44 61 kg
Silver medal – second place 2023 Veracruz K44 63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Samsun K44 61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Antalya K44 61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Istanbul K44 63 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Bari K44 61 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 Istanbul K44 63 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Manchester K44 63 kg
Silver medal – second place 2018 Plovdiv K44 61 kg
Silver medal – second place 2024 Belgrade K44 63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Warsaw K44 61 kg
European Para Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Rotterdam K44 63 kg

Mahmut Bozteke (born 21 June 1997) is a Turkish Para Taekwondo athlete.[1] He is a two-time Paralympian, Paralympics and several times European champion.

Early life

At age eleven, his arms were caught in the tail shaft of a tractor while he was working in a pistachio tree garden. Bozteke's arms were severed in the accident,[2] and he was hospitalised for three and half months. He had a partial amputation of his arms and tissue taken from his legs allowed partial reconstruction of his arms over the course of fifteen operations.[3] He was bedridden at home for a year recovering from injury and the operations. Having no hands, he learned to do his daily work with his feet. He was introduced to Taekwondo at a gymnasium of the Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate in his neighbourhood on the recommendation of his physiotherapist, who told him, "You use your feet well, I think you can practise taekwondo."[3][4] During his secondary education at Kanuni Sultan Süleyman High School, he participated in regional competitions for para-swimming in the S6 disability class.[5]

Sports career

The 23-year-old athlete became the Turkish champion in Para Taekwondo before he competed internationally.[3]

He won the bronze medal in the K44 disability class in the under 61 kilograms (134 lb) weight class at the 2016 European Para Taekwondo Championships held in Warsaw, Poland.[2] At the 2017 World Para Taekwondo Championships in London, England, he won the silver medal in the K44 61 kilograms (134 lb) event.[6][7] Bozteke won the gold medal in the K44 61 kilograms (134 lb) event at the 2019 Para Taekwondo Championships in Bari, Italy.[8][9]

Bozteke qualified for the para-taekwondo games at the rescheduled 2020 Summer Paralympics to be held in Tokyo, Japan, beginning on 24 August 2021.[3][10] He waon one of the bronze medals in the -61 kg event.[11]

He was named as one of two flag bearers along with Sevilay Öztürk by the Turkish National Paralympic Committee to lead the Turkish contingent for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France.[12] He captured the gold medal defeating Mongolian Bolor-Erdene Ganbat in the final of the K44 63 kg event at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Mahmut Bozteke". Team Turkey (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b ""Para-tekvandocu" gencin hayali beden eğitimi öğretmeni olmak". Radikal (in Turkish). 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Ceylan, Kemal (5 November 2020). "Yatağa bağımlılıktan paralimpik oyunlara uzanan başarı hikayesi: Mahmut Bozteke" [Mahmut Bozteke: Success story from bedridden to Paralympic Games]. Anadolu News Agency (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Mahmut Bozteke: Spor beni hayata bağladı". Fanatik (in Turkish). 6 August 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Bedensel Engelli Sporcular Start Listesi" (PDF) (in Turkish). Gaziantep Yüzme. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. ^ "İngiltere'nin başkenti Londra'da sona eren Para-Tekvando Dünya Şampiyonası'ndan Gaziantepli sporcular bir altın, bir de gümüş madalya ile döndü" (in Turkish). Gaziantep Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Para-Tekvandoculardan 10 madalya". Habertürk (in Turkish). 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Para Tekvando Avrupa Şampiyonası'nda 61 kiloda mücadele eden Mahmut Bozteke altın madalya kazandı". İhlas News Agency (in Turkish). 31 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Para Taekwondo'da Tarihi Başarı" (in Turkish). Türkiye Taekwondo Federasyonu. 1 November 2019. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games". paralympic.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Tokyo Paralimpik Oyunları'nda Mahmut Bozteke'den tarihi madalya". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. ^ Tiryaki, Erkan (27 August 2024). "Paris 2024 Paralimpik Oyunları'nın açılışında Türk bayrağını Sevilay Öztürk ve Mahmut Bozteke taşıyacak". Anadolu News Agency (in Turkish). Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Mahmut Bozteke'den altın madalya!". beIN Spoerts (in Turkish). 31 August 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.