Ahmet Cömert (1926–1990) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

amateur boxer Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

, coach,

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and sports official. He served in the executive committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). He was born in

Kemaliye Kemaliye (formerly Eğin) ( hy, Ակն, Romanized Old Armenian: ''Akn'', meaning "spring") is both a town in and one of the nine districts of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The town is known for its historic architect ...

town of

Erzincan Province Erzincan Province ( tr, ; ku, Parezgêha Erzînganê) is a province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. In Turkey, its capital is also called Erzincan. The population was 236,034 in 2018. Geography Erzincan is traversed by the northeaste ...

in 1926. Between 1939 and 1944, Ahmet Cömert performed amateur boxing. After retiring from active sport, he became a boxing coach at

Galatasaray S.K. Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

The boxing team he coached achieved four consecutive times champion titles. In the early 1950s, he participated at the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

as a member of the

Turkish Brigade The Turkish Brigade (code name ''North Star''; tr, Şimal Yıldızı or ''Kutup Yıldızı'Kutup Yıldızı – Kore Savaşı'nın 50. Yıldönümü'' (''"North Star: the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War"'', TRT İzmir, Director: Ismail Rag ...

. Returned home, he successfully served as boxing referee in nine European and four World championships and two Olympic Games. He was awarded with a golden pin by the AIBA for his officiating 39 boxing fights with 100% accuracy during the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, an honor, which a boxing referee received for the first time ever. In 1978, Ahmet Cömert was appointed to the executive board and referee committee of the AIBA. He was elected vice president of the Amateur Boxing Federation of Islamic Countries. He served as boxing judge at the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Olympic Games. Ahmet Cömert died of apparent heart failure while on duty during the 1990 European Junior Boxing Championship held in the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Legacy

* An amateur boxing tournament ( tr, Uluslararası Ahmet Cömert Boks Turnuvası) organized annually at international level in Turkey, which is considered as the biggest competition in the world, is named after him. In 2012, its 27th edition was held. * A sport hall ( tr, Ahmet Cömert Spor Salonu) opened in 1998 in Ataköy neighborhood of

Bakırköy Bakırköy is a neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by an upper middle class population. The municipality of Bakırköy ...

district in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

bears his name.

References

1926 births 1990 deaths People from Kemaliye Boxing referees Boxing judges Turkish referees and umpires Turkish military personnel of the Korean War Turkish male boxers {{Turkey-boxing-bio-stub