INTERNATIONAL SUCCESSES OF TURKISH JUDO: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Judo is an Olympic sport which is very popular worldwide. Turkish judo has developed in the recent decades and many successes have been achieved by Turkish judo athletes. However, no study has investigated the successes of Turkish judo. The aim of this study was to present successes of Turkish judo in senior category in the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships. This descriptive study was a research about the development of elite sport of judo in Turkey. Results were grouped and analysed accordingto the decade of success. Data were collected from several official judo websites. At the end of 2019, Turkish judo athletes has taken 51 medals (two in the Olympic Games, 10 in the World Championships, 39 in the European Championships). The number of the medals was highest in the 1990s and 2010s. Men athletescontributed to the medal numbers more than women athletes as the percentage of medals achieved by men athletes was 66% of the total medals. Turkish judo started to gain a place on the podium at international level in the 1990s but have not been able to reach that success again for the last two decades.