{ "id": "eprrfa2am7", "slug": "bayram-sit", "title": "Bayram Sit", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play" }, { "id": "play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual" }, { "id": "play.individual.combat", "label": "Combat sports and professional wrestling", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.combat" }, { "id": "play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling", "label": "Amateur and collegiate wrestling", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling" }, { "id": "play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling.olympic-freestyle-wrestlers", "label": "Olympic freestyle wrestlers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling.olympic-freestyle-wrestlers" }, { "id": "play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling.olympic-freestyle-wrestlers.turkish-olympic-wrestlers", "label": "Turkish Olympic wrestlers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling.olympic-freestyle-wrestlers.turkish-olympic-wrestlers" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.mena.t1946.play.individual", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 1946 to 2000: Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t1946.play.individual", "path": [ { "id": "geo.mena", "label": "Middle East and North Africa", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t1946", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t1946.play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t1946.play" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t1946.play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t1946.play.individual" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Bayram Şit (1930-2019), Turkish freestyle wrestler; Olympic featherweight gold at Helsinki 1952, silver at 1954 Tokyo Worlds, fourth at Melbourne 1956; later coached France and Turkey.", "snippet": "Bayram Şit (1930-2019), Turkish freestyle wrestler; Olympic featherweight gold at Helsinki 1952, silver at 1954 Tokyo Worlds, fourth at Melbourne 1956; later coached France and Turkey.", "node": "play.individual.combat.amateur_wrestling.olympic-freestyle-wrestlers.turkish-olympic-wrestlers", "markdown": "# Bayram Sit\n\n**Bayram Şit** (1930 – 29 May 2019) was a Turkish freestyle wrestler who won the featherweight gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and later served as a coach and technical director of the Turkish national wrestling team.\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Born / died | 1930 in Akşar, Acıpayam, Denizli (TUR); 29 May 2019 in Ankara (TUR)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379) |\n| Olympic result | Gold, featherweight freestyle, 1952 Helsinki; joint-fourth, same class, 1956 Melbourne[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379) |\n| 1952 final | Defeated Nasser Givehchi of Iran by unanimous decision and Joe Henson of the United States by fall (9:20) in a three-man round-robin[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/123202?id=133036) |\n| World Championships | Silver, featherweight, 1954 Tokyo, behind Japan's Shozo Sasahara[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379) |\n| Other titles | Gold, freestyle featherweight, 1951 Mediterranean Games; third, 1956 World Cup in Istanbul[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379) |\n| Recognition | United World Wrestling Hall of Fame[3](https://cms.uww.org/person/bayram-sit) |\n\n## Early career\n\nŞit was born in 1930 in the village of Akşar in the Acıpayam district of [Denizli Province](https://www.edgepedia.org/denizli-province)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379) • [4](https://prabook.com/web/bayram.sit/2460563). His first major international victory for Turkey came at the 1951 [Mediterranean Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/mediterranean-games) in Alexandria, where he took the freestyle featherweight gold medal[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379) • [4](https://prabook.com/web/bayram.sit/2460563).\n\n## 1952 Olympic gold\n\nThe featherweight freestyle event at Helsinki, held 20 to 23 July 1952 at Messuhalli I and Messuhalli II, drew 21 wrestlers from 21 countries under a negative-points format in which five negative points eliminated a wrestler[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/123202?id=133036). Şit won his early bouts by fall and by 3-0 decisions, including a fall over Finland's Rauno Mäkinen in round four[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/123202?id=133036).\n\nAfter five rounds only Şit, Iran's Nasser Givehchi, and the American Joe Henson remained, and none had yet faced the others, so the final round was a true round-robin. Şit beat Givehchi by unanimous decision and Henson by fall in 9:20, taking the gold; Givehchi won silver with a split decision over Henson[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/123202?id=133036).\n\n## Later competitions\n\nAt the 1954 World Championships in Tokyo Şit reached the final and finished second to Japan's Shozo Sasahara, taking silver[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379).\n\nBoth Şit and Sasahara competed at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Şit could not defend his title and finished joint-fourth with the American Myron Roderick, while Sasahara won the gold[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379). Şit retired from competition after these Games[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379).\n\n## Coaching and legacy\n\nAfter retiring, Şit worked as a trainer in both France and Turkey, eventually serving as technical director of the Turkish national team[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379). [United World Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-world-wrestling) lists him in its Hall of Fame and records his coaching role with the France national team[3](https://cms.uww.org/person/bayram-sit). He died in Ankara on 29 May 2019[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Bayram Şit, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60379)\n2. [Featherweight, Freestyle (≤62 kg), Men, Helsinki 1952, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/results/123202?id=133036)\n3. [Bayram Sit, United World Wrestling](https://cms.uww.org/person/bayram-sit)\n4. [Bayram Sit, Prabook](https://prabook.com/web/bayram.sit/2460563)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Amateur and collegiate wrestling › Olympic freestyle wrestlers › Turkish Olympic wrestlers*\n\n*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Bayram Sit\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Bayram Sit](https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit](https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Bayram Sit\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bayram-sit. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Bayram Şit, Turkish freestyle wrestler; Olympic featherweight gold at Helsinki 1952, silver at 1954 Tokyo Worlds, fourth at Melbourne 1956; later coached France and Turkey." }