Ömer Besim Koşalay

As a representative of Galatasaray SK Ömer Besim Koşalay competed as a wrestler, footballer, and track and field athlete. Koşalay started out as an accomplished wrestler, becoming the İstanbul champion in the 52kg weight-class. As a footballer he played for both Galatasaray and Vefa on the left wing. By 1922 he had turned his attention to athletics where he ran in the 800 and 1,500 metres, setting Turkish records in both distances. Over the next 13 years Koşalay set 29 national records across six different distances with his Turkish record in the 800 metres standing from September 1922 until April 1940.

Koşalay ran in the 800 metres and the 1,500 metres at the 1924 Paris Olympics but was eliminated in the heats in both races. Four years later he returned to the Olympics for the 1928 Amsterdam Games where he ran in just the 800 metres. Koşalay ran barefoot in his heat when the British athlete, and eventual gold medallist, Douglas Lowe accidently stepped on his foot causing an injury with his running spikes. Lowe finished second with Koşalay in fourth place with only the top three athletes progressing to the semi-finals. The Turkish team launched a protest to try and reinstate Koşalay but it was ultimately rejected. He continued to compete in athletics until retiring in 1935.

Following his track career Koşalay worked as a journalist and as a manager of the Galatasaray sports club. He died in 1956, with the İstanbul Athletics Provincial Representation hosting the Ömer Besim Country Race in his honour every year since his death.

Personal Bests: 800 – 1:59.6 (1928); 1500 – 4:16.0 (1927).