Raşit Öztaş (born 1920, date of death unknown) was a Turkish

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who competed in the men's 100 metres in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

. Raşit Öztaş was born in

Nevşehir Nevşehir (; from 'new' and 'city') is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Nevşehir Province and Nevşehir District.Hüseyin Hüsnü Pasha Hüseyin Hüsnü Pasha (Modern Turkish: ''Hüseyin Hüsnü Paşa''; 1852–1918) was an Ottoman admiral, who participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). In 1909 he became the Minister of the Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Im ...

) had emigrated to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

from

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

shortly after they married. The family settled in

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

and had three children. Mahmut died when Raşit was young and his mother died shortly thereafter. Raşit lived with his uncle for a time and then with a family friend. He finished primary school and started secondary school in Adana, then completed his high school education in Eskiseheir where his brother lived. He had always been interested in sport and became a runner in high school. He began to travel to tournaments with the Turkish athletic team. While in high school, he won the Turkish championships several times and also won the Eastern Mediterranean Athletics Championship once. He then obtained a degree from the Faculty of Foreign Trade and Consular Business of the Izmir University Economy and Trade Sciences department. Whilst studying at University, Raşit continued with his sports career and training without rest and in his last year at university in 1948 he won the Turkish championship and qualified to represent Turkey at the London Olympics in the 100x200m. He was third in his heat in the

1948 London Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

. After representing Turkey in the London Olympics in 1948, he returned to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

to do his

reserve officer A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional m ...

military duty. Before he started his military duty, his commanders asked him to stay in the military to train successful sports people like himself, but he preferred to go to Gaziler Tepesi where he was appointed as a reserve officer and to do his national duty there. After he completed his national duty as a reserve officer, Raşit Öztaş was appointed to a sugar factory as a manager. When he was in his fourth year of university, Raşit Öztaş married Azize Oztas who was a student at Eskisehir-Mahmudiye-Cifteler Village Institute teachers training school. They had three children, Atilla, Gulden and Ulku, and later three grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasit Oztas 1920 births Year of death missing Turkish male sprinters Olympic athletes for Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics 20th-century Turkish sportsmen Sportspeople from Nevşehir