Mehmet Çoban

Who was Mehmet Çoban?

Mehmet Çoban, aka Koç Çoban Mehmet, was a Turkish Olympian wrestler in the heavyweight division of Greco-Roman style.

He was born 1905 in Balıkesir, Ottoman Empire. A shepherd, he was discovered by the local military commander Hikmet Pasha during a Turkish traditional sport yağlı güreş match, and was sent to Istanbul to join "İstanbul Güreş İhtisas Kulübü", a renowned club specialized in wrestling. During his sport career from 1928 until his retirement in 1940, he was the only heavyweight wrestler of Turkey's national Greco-Roman wrestling team.

Mehmet Çoban became 5 times Balkan champion and earned also once the silver medal at the Balkan and the European Championships each. At his age of 41, Mehmet Çoban won a bronze medal at the European Championship. He participated at the 1928 and 1936 Olympics, ranking 8th and 4th respectively.

Mehmet Çoban died in 1969.

Mehmet Çoban The left arm of Said Coban