Occupation
Athlete
Education
Physical Education, Teaching - Ege University: Izmir, TUR
Family
Partner Seray
Spoken languages
English, Turkish
Club
Savkar Cimnastik Spor Kulubu: Bornova, TUR
Coach
Yilmaz Goktekin [personal, national]
Injuries
He suffered a right shoulder injury during training in February 2020 and underwent surgery the following month. (fotomac.com.tr, 25 Mar 2020; aa.com.tr, 25 Mar 2020)
He injured his left shoulder in early 2017. (milliyet.com.tr, 06 Apr 2017)
In 2013 he suffered an injury to his left ankle for which his foot was in a cast for five weeks. (gq.com.tr, 17 Jan 2021)
Start sporting career
He took up the sport at age five in Bornova, Turkey.
Reason for taking up the sport
His uncle brought him, along with his own son and daughter, to the gym. "The three of them continued together for a certain period of time," said his coach, Yilmaz Goktekin. "They say, 'You cannot be an athlete, you are born.' After subjecting him to minor tests, we separated Ibrahim. His talent, muscle strength and perception were different from the others. We took him to the elite group. Of course we didn't know exactly where we could go from there."
Milestones
He became the first artistic gymnast from Turkey to win a gold medal at the world championships when he won gold on rings at the 2019 edition in Stuttgart, Germany. This was also the first artistic gymnastics world championship medal of any colour for Turkey. (olympicchannel.com, 12 Oct 2019; SportsDeskOnline, 24 Mar 2020)
He became the first artistic gymnast from Turkey to win a gold medal at the European championships when he won on rings at the 2020 edition in Mersin, Turkey. Compatriot Ferhat Arican won gold on parallel bars later on the same day. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Dec 2020; lequipe.fr, 13 Dec 2020)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold on the rings at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. (hurriyetdailynews.com, 21 Oct 2019)
Most influential person in career
His family. (hurriyetdailynews.com, 21 Oct 2019)
Additional information
NAMED ELEMENT
In April 2017 the International Federation of Gymnastics [FIG] included 'The Colak' in their Code of Points for rings. He first performed the element, which involves a vertical pull up with straight arms to a V-cross, at the 2017 World Cup event in Melbourne, VIC, Australia. He hopes to have a second move named after him, and says he and his coach have been practising during training. "Obviously we have an idea, but I do not know when it will happen. We're working on it. I aim to try to succeed in an appropriate competition. I want to have the second Colak movement named." (nilspormerkezi.com, 15 Sep 2019; milliyet.com.tr, 06 Apr 2017; sputniknews.com, 06 Apr 2017)
Last update : 2024-07-22
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