Oktay Urkal

German boxer Oktay Urkal, the son of Turkish immigrants, won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the light-welterweight class, losing to Cuban Héctor Vinent in the final. Urkal became Turkish Champion in 1991, but from the following year he represented Germany. From 1993-95 he was German amateur champion and in 1993 and 1994 he won the prestigious Chemie Cup at Halle on Saale.

In 1993, Urkal won the bronze medal at the World Championships. The following year he won the World Cup at Bangkok, and in 1995 added another bronze at the Worlds.

After the Olympics, Urkal turned professional and won the European super-lightweight title in 2000. He regained it in 2002 and made five more defences of the title up to 2005. He fought for an lost the both the WBC and WBA super-lightweight titles in 2001, and had three more attempts at world titles but was unsuccessful on each occasion. He did, however, win the WBC International super-lightweight title.

He was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award in 1996. Later, Urkal became a boxing coach.