Cemal Erçman

Who is Cemal Erçman?

Cemal Erçman, aka Gülleci Cemal, was a Turkish weightlifter, who competed at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics.

He lifted 345 kg in total at the 1924 Olympic Games held in Paris, France and became 14th among 22 competitors in the featherweight class. At the next Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he achieved the 8th rank with 262.5 kg in total in the featherweight division, where 25 sportspeople competed. These were Turkey's first successes in the weightlifting sport at international arenas.

In 1912, he was among the founders of Istanbul Jimnastik Kulübü. Cemal Erçman continued performing active sports through his later life, was engaged in bodybuilding and competed in 1968 even at his age of 72 with young contesters.