Talat Tunçalp (1 October 1915 – 1 January 2017) was a Turkish cyclist. He was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire in the mid-to-late 1910s, though his birth year was reported as both 1915[1][2] and 1917.[3] He took up cycling and won his first sprint race in 1932.[3] From 1933 through 1949, he was the Turkish National Champion in the road race 16 times and the sprint 15 times.[1][2][3] He attended the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin,[4] finishing joint eighth in the individual road race with his country failing to medal in the team version. He also participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics,[5] but did not finish the individual race.[6]

Talat Tunçalp
Personal information
Born(1915-10-01)1 October 1915
Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died1 January 2017(2017-01-01) (aged 101)
Istanbul, Turkey
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider

After retiring from active competition in 1949 he became president of the Turkish Cycling Federation[5] in 1950 and held that position through 1968, the same year that he helped found what would become the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. Upon the death of Halet Çambel on 14 January 2014, it was noted that Tunçalp was the oldest surviving Turkish Olympian.[1][2][3] He died on 1 January 2017 at the age of 101.[7] Tunçalp was interred at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery following the religious funeral service held at Şişli Mosque.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Bisikletin Yaşayan Tarihi Talat TUNÇALP". Turkbike.com. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Bir Türk Efsanesi : Talat Tunçalp". Anatolian Agency. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "Yaşayan bir efsane". Posta (in Turkish). Doğan Holding. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Berlin'de Hitler'i gördüm". Sabah Spor (in Turkish). 16 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  5. ^ a b Bayer, Yalçın (11 April 2010). "'Bisiklet'in kıymetini bilmiyoruz". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  6. ^ Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (2011). "Talat Tunçalp Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Eski Bisiklet Federasyonu Başkanı Tunçalp, Vefat Etti" (in Turkish). Haberler.com. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Efsane sporcu Talat Tunçalp toprağa verilsi". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.