Balkans | Riza Kayalıp will try to catch up with Karelin at the European Championships in Croatia

The national wrestler Kayalp will share the record of the legendary Russian athlete Alexander Karelin, who won 12 European Championships, if he wins the gold medal in the organization that will be held in Croatia.

National wrestler Reza Kayalp will be on the mat to equal the gold medal record of legendary Russian athlete Alexander Karelin at the European Championships to be held in Croatia.

The European Wrestling Championships will be held on April 17-23 in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. This tournament is of particular importance to Riza Kayalıp, who is named as the Turkish wrestler who has won the most European and World Championships.

Having won 11 European Championships in his career, Reza will share a record with the legendary Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin, who won 12 European Championships, if he wins a gold medal in Zagreb.

National wrestler Reza Kayap won gold medals in the European Championships in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and silver medals in 2011.

He did not leave the top of the podium to his competitors last year

Reza, the last European champion in the 130kg Greco-Roman style, also finished on the podium at the World Wrestling Championships in Serbia last year. Thus, Rıza made history as the first Turkish wrestler to win the world championship for the fifth time.

The national athlete, who was European and world champion last year, took first place in the 130kg Greco-Roman style in the 2022 World Wrestling Federation World Ranking.

Riza Kayalıp, one of the most important names in Turkish sports, has also won 3 Olympic medals in his career.

The national wrestler won bronze at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 and silver at Rio 2016. Reza Kayalp aims to complete his career at the top by winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Kayalp: “I feel good physically”

Reza Kayalıp told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he aims to equal and break the record of Russian Alexander Karelin in the number of European Championships in Croatia next year.

Referring to the end of preparations for the European Championship, Reza said, “I feel good physically now. Last year, I became European champion for the eleventh time. It is not an easy thing to achieve. It is very difficult to be such a champion, especially in the Greek style.” Roman”. He said.

Stating that this year’s European Championship is of particular importance to him, Reza used the following statements:

“I scored Karelin in the final number of European Championships, we have the same number of medals, but I am behind in the number of championships. I want to become European Champion for the twelfth time and equal Karelin’s record. If I get on the podium in Croatia, I will overtake Karelin in the number of medals in European Championships Karelin is a legendary athlete, he has 12 European Championships and 9 World Championships. Therefore, equalizing and breaking his record will be a significant achievement.

Reza Kayalıp stated that they aim to be ranked as a team as well, and said, “As a team, we aim to have a championship with a lot of medals. Every one does his job accordingly.” Make an evaluation.

source: AA