Esra Kiraz (born 1992) is a Turkish

armwrestler Arm wrestling (also spelled "armwrestling") is a sport in which two participants, facing each other with their bent elbows placed on a flat surface (usually a table) and hands firmly gripped, each attempt to "pin" their opponent's hand by forcing ...

. Competing in the senior women's 55 kg category, she has been world and European champion several times in both left and right arm categories.

Early life

Esra Kiraz was born into a family of sportspeople in 1992. She went to İmam Hatip High School in

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. As of 2012–13 she was a student at

Kocaeli University Kocaeli University ( Turkish: Kocaeli Üniversitesi) is a state university in İzmit, Turkey. It was founded as the Academy of Engineering and Architecture of Kocaeli in 1976. The electrical and mechanical engineering departments, basic scien ...

. She grew up helping her father Ömer Kiraz with floor and wall tiling at his construction site, where she carried cement bags.

Sports career

Early years

At school, Kiraz was not a diligent student. She spent more of her time in the school yard. Her teacher of physical education directed her initially to play basketball. In 2006 at age 14, she was selected by her teachers to be sent to an intra-school arm wrestling tournament as no other candidate was available. She took part, and became champion in both left and right arm attracting the attention of a coach of the Istanbul Youth and Sport Directorate, who saw a future world and European champion in her. In fact she was interested in martial arts, but pursued a career as an armwrestler. Although in the beginning her mother was against her intention, her father fully supported her. Her father accompanied her at trainings, and contributed financially for her participations at international competitions. On the way to the championship, they always walked shoulder to shoulder.

Club career

Kiraz became Turkish champion in the first official national competition. She competed for

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

Belediye Spor, before she joined Haliç Su Sporları ("Golden Horn Water Sports Club"). During her student time, she competed at the 2013 Turkish Interuniversity Armwrestling Tournament held in

Bilecik Bilecik is a city in northwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Bilecik Province and Bilecik District. In 2014, she became Turkish champion in

Kemer Kemer is a seaside resort, municipality and district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 412 km2, and its population is 49,383 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coast, west of the city of Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera. Kemer is o ...

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, where for the first time a great number of sportspeople participated. She was so entitled to take part at the European Championship in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan. Kiraz defended her champion title at the 2015 Turkish Championship in Kemer, Antalya. In 2018, she again won the Turkish champion title in both arms of the 50 kg category. She was selected to the national team again following the Turkish Championship held in

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

between 21 and 25 March 2022. She is nicknamed "Çelik Bilek" ("The Steel Wrist").

International career

Kiraz faced her first obstacle when she was about to participate at the 2008 World Championship in

Kelowna, British Columbia Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ', ...

, Canada. The Turkish Bodybuilding, Fitness and Armwrestling Federation ("Türkiye Vücut Geliştirme, Fitness ve Bilek Güreşi Federasyonu, TVGFBF") did not cover the travel expenses, and she had no sponsors. Her father stepped in selling his work equipment. She was part of the national team at the 2012 World Championship held in São Vicente, Brazil. After taking many medals and runners-up titles in the Youth and Junior divisions at the world and European championships, she won her first gold medal in the Senior division at the 2011 European Championship in

, Turkey. At the 2015 European Championship in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria, Kiraz competed in the Senior 50 kg category against 13 opponents including some former world and European champions. On the left arm in the final, she lost to her Russian opponent, and took the silver medal. On the right arm in the final, she defeated the Russian, and became European champion. Kiraz took two silver medals at the 2016 World Championship in

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultura ...

, Bulgaria. She became champion in both arms of the 50 kg at the 2017 World Armwrestling Championship held in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary. At the 2018 World Championship held in Antalua, Turkey, she won the gold medal in the 50 kg left arm category.

Coaching

She shared her experience by coaching. Two women, Burcu Korkmaz and Beyzanur Avcı, were coached by Kiraz.

International individual achievements

Honours

In 2009, she was named the "Armwrestler of the Year" in Turkey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiraz, Esra 1992 births Living people Sport wrestlers from Istanbul Imam Hatip school alumni Kocaeli University alumni Female arm wrestlers Turkish arm wrestlers Turkish sportswomen