The unknown story of sports pioneer revealed
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 27, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Despite being a key name in getting the Ottoman Empire for the 1912 Stockhol Olympics, and spreading physical education in early 1900s, Selim Sırrı Tarcan does not have the recognition he deserves. Academic and former athlete M. Şevki Çapan wants to shed a light on the unknown story of an important sportsperson
Though there are more than a dozen sports halls and streets named after him, relatively little is known about Selim Sırrı Tarcan, one of the pioneers of sports in Turkey. Born in 1874, Tarcan was an athlete himself, but made his mark as a sports administrator, founding the Turkish Olympic Committee in 1908 and getting the Turkish sports body recognized on an international level.
"Unfortunately there is not enough research about Tarcan in Turkey," M. Şevki Çapan Çapan, an academic from Muğla University, and one of the few to tackle the subject, said to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "Maybe it’s because almost all of the documents about him are in the Ottoman language."
In 1912, when the Ottoman Empire was represented in the Olympics for the first time, Tarcan headed the Turkish delegation. Since the Muslim community at that time did not practice sports other than archery and wrestling, the Olympic squad consisted of two Armenian athletes.
"The two Armenians, Vahram Papazyan and Mıgırdiç Mıgıryan, had to pay their own travel expenses to go to Stockholm," says Çapan, who admires Tarcan and can conduct research in the Ottoman language.
The achievement of getting the Ottoman Empire into the Olympics spurred Tarcan onward. In the ensuing years, he participated in the International Olympic Committee, thanks to his contacts with committee founder Pierre de Coubertin.
Political problems
Part of the reason why Tarcan put his heart and soul into sports was that he had some political problems with the Ottoman administration. Around 1908, Tarcan was interested in politics as well, but was isolated by his open support for the constitutional monarchy. Frustrated with that avenue, Tarcan focused on his sporting career and went to Sweden. Besides his Olympic achievements, Tarcan also promoted physical education for students.
"Tarcan’s approach to sports was heavily influenced by P. Henrik Ling’s Swedish Gymnastics system, which focuses on human health and body fitness." Çapan said.
After returning to Turkey, Tarcan strived to spread sports throughout the Ottoman Empire. First, he gave physical-education lessons to male high-school students, then tried to get the females to join in too. Though he faced prejudices and difficulties at first, he finally managed to his fulfill his vision of "sports for everyone."
Once he succeeded in overcoming gender discrimination in sports education, Tarcan moved on to educate pre-school children, visiting Germany and Belgium to research that subject, eventually publishing the book "Children Suffering from Aclasis or Abnormality."
"Unfortunately there is not enough research about Tarcan in Turkey," M. Şevki Çapan Çapan, an academic from Muğla University, and one of the few to tackle the subject, said to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "Maybe it’s because almost all of the documents about him are in the Ottoman language."
In 1912, when the Ottoman Empire was represented in the Olympics for the first time, Tarcan headed the Turkish delegation. Since the Muslim community at that time did not practice sports other than archery and wrestling, the Olympic squad consisted of two Armenian athletes.
"The two Armenians, Vahram Papazyan and Mıgırdiç Mıgıryan, had to pay their own travel expenses to go to Stockholm," says Çapan, who admires Tarcan and can conduct research in the Ottoman language.
The achievement of getting the Ottoman Empire into the Olympics spurred Tarcan onward. In the ensuing years, he participated in the International Olympic Committee, thanks to his contacts with committee founder Pierre de Coubertin.
Political problems
Part of the reason why Tarcan put his heart and soul into sports was that he had some political problems with the Ottoman administration. Around 1908, Tarcan was interested in politics as well, but was isolated by his open support for the constitutional monarchy. Frustrated with that avenue, Tarcan focused on his sporting career and went to Sweden. Besides his Olympic achievements, Tarcan also promoted physical education for students.
"Tarcan’s approach to sports was heavily influenced by P. Henrik Ling’s Swedish Gymnastics system, which focuses on human health and body fitness." Çapan said.
After returning to Turkey, Tarcan strived to spread sports throughout the Ottoman Empire. First, he gave physical-education lessons to male high-school students, then tried to get the females to join in too. Though he faced prejudices and difficulties at first, he finally managed to his fulfill his vision of "sports for everyone."
Once he succeeded in overcoming gender discrimination in sports education, Tarcan moved on to educate pre-school children, visiting Germany and Belgium to research that subject, eventually publishing the book "Children Suffering from Aclasis or Abnormality."