Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan (1864 in Bukurovo village near Tırnova – April 11, 1939 in Kurtdere village near

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...

) was a Turkish

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

. He lived most of his life in the village of Kurtdere, 40 km from

. He stood 6'5 (196 cm) tall and weighed 326 lb (148 kg). He fought with all of the famous wrestlers of his time and gained notoriety throughout Asia Minor and Europe. He became wrestling champion () in

Kırkpınar Kırkpınar (Turkish language, Turkish for "forty springs") is a Turkey, Turkish oil wrestling (yağlı güreş) tournament where pehlivans (wrestlers) compete for three days. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey sinc ...

, a traditional oil wrestling tournament near

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, Turkey. He earned his title by defeating Kara Osman. He traveled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, promoted by French wrestler and promoter Joseph Doublier during the "Turkish Invasion," when Doublier recruited and first promoted Turkish wrestlers in France with great commercial success. Among the Turkish wrestlers brought to France by Doublier were Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan, Kartanci Mehmhet Pehlivan, Yusuf Ismail, Kara Osman, and Nurullah Hasan. He later competed in Great Britain, The Netherlands and the USA but was never defeated. The surname he took after the adoption the 1934 Law in Turkey on Family Names was ''Baykurt''.

References

1864 births 1939 deaths Sportspeople from Gabrovo Province Turkish male sport wrestlers People from the Ottoman Empire {{Turkey-wrestling-bio-stub