Two Turkish women athletes won gold at the European Wrestling Championship on Thursday, adding to another Turkish gold won in the men's competition held in Kaspiysk in Russia's northern Caucasus Republic of Dagestan.
For third time in a row, Turkey's Yasemin Adar won gold in the 76-kilogram division, defeating Russia's Ekaterina Bukina 8-2.
Adar, a 26-year-old a native of Balıkesir, Turkey, won gold in the European Championships in 2016 and 2017, and also won gold at the World Championships in 2017.
Turkish wrestling champion Elif Jale Yeşilırmak also won the European gold medal Thursday by defeating Bulgaria's Mimi Hristova 6-4 in the women's 59-kilogram final.
Yeşilırmak, who was born in Russia and later became a naturalized Turkish citizen, presented her gold medal to the Turkish people with tears of joy following her victory.
The 31-year-old athlete had previously won two Bronze medals in the European Championships, one for Turkey and one for Russia. She holds the title of the first Turkish woman wrestler to participate in the Olympics and also won two world championships representing Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent his congratulations to both Yeşilırmak and Adar following their victories.
Turkey's Bediha Gün won her first European championship medal, taking the bronze in the women's 53 kilograms after defeating Ukraine's Anna Voitova.
National wrestler Evin Demirhan won her first bronze in the women's 50 kilograms, defeating Spanish competitor Aintzane Gorria Goni.
In the men's competition, Turkey's Rıza Kayaalp also took gold Tuesday in the Greco Roman category, defeating Russian opponent Vitalii Shchur 2-1. The victory marked Kayaalp's eighth European title.
