This year’s Kirkpinar was held at a traditional location in the west of Edirne province, starting on June 27 and ending on Sunday, July 3. This year, the highest number of wrestlers competed in the championship, which is also included in the UNESCO list, for the entire duration of the event. Spectators could admire 2475 wrestlers in action.
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After a week full of exciting fights, 26-year-old wrestler Cengizhan Şimşek rejoiced in victory under the scorching Turkish sun after an hour-long contest. A wrestler from the Antalya region who is proud to still live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. The audience also liked his majestic mustache.
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“God brought me this victory. I thank him. Being able to put this gold belt over my shoulder is a dream come true,” the winner gave his speech after being decorated by Turkish Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoglu.
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Just becoming a wrestler in this prestigious tournament is not easy. In addition to physical prerequisites, fighting men should also prove their moral character, only Master Kirpinaru can give them an invitation.
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Whoever gets in the pants has an advantage
The rules of the match have been simple since 1360, when the first year of the championship was held. The winner is the one who pins the opponent on the shoulder blades or, on the contrary, lifts him above his head. This is, however, naturally a very difficult task with respect to slippery bodies. Not only because of this, the matches used to last several hours, allegedly even days, they started at nine o’clock in the morning, and if the duel did not know the winner by dusk, it continued the next day.
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This only changed in 1975, when “endless” matches were prevented by the time limit set for the contest. Depending on the category, it is 30 and 40 minutes, if no winner is found during it, he will be chosen during the next ten or fifteen minutes of scoring.
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The wrestlers are half-naked, wearing only knee-length pants. And they are actually the only chance to get a firm grip on the oiled opponent. That is also why the heavy, thirteen-kilogram buffalo leather shorts called “kisbet” are firmly “locked” at the top with a belt and at the bottom with “cuffs” so that the fighter’s opponent cannot get into them with his hands. As soon as one of the opponents succeeds, he usually wins.
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