Servet Tazegül

Servet Tazegül (born 26 September 1988) is a Turkish taekwondo practitioner and Olympic, world and European champion. Competing in the men's 68 kg event, Tazegül represented the Turkey national team and İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor. He won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the World Taekwondo Championships, he won gold medals in 2011 and 2015 and a bronze medal in 2009. He also became European champion at the European Taekwondo Championships in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.

Servet Tazegül

Tazegül in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Servet Tazegül
Nationality	Turkish
Born	(1988-09-26) 26 September 1988 Nuremberg, West Germany
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
Country	Turkey
Sport	Taekwondo
Event	68 kg
Club	İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor Gaziosmanpaşa Belediyesi KSC Leopard
Coached by	Ali Şahin
Medal record Men's taekwondo Representing Turkey Olympic Games 2012 London 68 kg 2008 Beijing 68 kg World Taekwondo Championships 2015 Chelyabinsk 68 kg 2011 Gyeongju 68 kg 2009 Copenhagen 68 kg European Taekwondo Championships 2008 Rome 67 kg 2010 Saint Petersburg 68 kg 2012 Manchester 68 kg 2014 Baku 68 kg 2016 Montreux 68 kg Mediterranean Games 2013 Mersin 68 kg World Taekwondo Grand Prix 2015 Manchester 68 kg World Junior Championships 2004 Suncheon 55 kg European Junior Championships 2005 Baku 59 kg

Career

Tazegül spent his childhood in Germany and started taekwondo at the age of five. In the early years of his sporting career, he competed for KSC Leopard in Nuremberg. He later represented Turkey and competed for Gaziosmanpaşa Belediyesi and İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor.

In 2004, he won the gold medal in the 55 kg event at the World Junior Championships held in Suncheon, South Korea. The same year, he also won the junior 63 kg event at the Paris Open. In 2005, he took the gold medal in the junior 59 kg event at the Dutch Open in Eindhoven and became European junior champion in the same weight class at the European Junior Championships in Baku.

In 2006, Tazegül won the gold medal in the 67 kg event at the German Open in Bonn and the silver medal at the Dutch Open in Eindhoven. In 2007, he won gold medals in the 68 kg event at the Dutch Open, German Open and French Open. The same year, he competed in the 67 kg event at the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing. After defeating Mohammed Farah Akmal and Siarhei Sachuk, he was eliminated following a 10–9 loss to Iran's Omid Gholamzadeh.

In 2008, he won the 68 kg event at the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Istanbul and qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The same season, he won his first senior European title by taking the gold medal in the 67 kg event at the 2008 European Taekwondo Championships in Rome.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Tazegül represented Turkey in the men's 68 kg event. He defeated Cuba's Gessler Viera Abreu 4–3 in his opening bout to reach the quarter-finals. He then lost 1–0 to South Korea's Son Tae-jin. After Son reached the final, Tazegül entered the repechage, where he defeated the Netherlands' Dennis Bekkers 3–2. In the bronze medal contest, he beat Peru's Peter López 1–0 and won the Olympic bronze medal.

In 2009, he won the bronze medal in the 68 kg event at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships in Copenhagen. The same year, he won the gold medal in the 72 kg event at the Dutch Open. In 2010, he became European champion for the second time by winning the 68 kg event at the 2010 European Taekwondo Championships in Saint Petersburg, defeating Croatia's Filip Grgić 14–9 in the final.

In 2011, Tazegül won the gold medal in the 68 kg event at the 2011 World Taekwondo Championships in Gyeongju, South Korea. He defeated Stephane Moundounga Kombila, Georgios Michailidis, Farkhod Negmatov, Jhohanny Jean Bartermi and Britain's Martin Stamper to reach the final. In the final, he beat Iran's Mohammad Bagheri Motamed 9–8 and became world champion. The same year, he won the 68 kg event at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku and secured qualification for the London 2012 Olympics.

In 2012, he became European champion for the third time by winning the 68 kg event at the 2012 European Taekwondo Championships in Manchester. He defeated Mansur Tapuev, Hryhorii Husarov and Stilianos Mechteridis-Papadopoulos before beating Croatia's Filip Grgić in the final.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tazegül won the gold medal in the men's 68 kg event. He defeated the United States' Terrence Jennings 8–6 in the round of 16 and Ukraine's Hryhorii Husarov 9–2 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, he beat Britain's Martin Stamper 9–6 to reach the final. He then defeated Iran's Mohammad Bagheri Motamed 6–5 in the final and won the first Olympic gold medal of his career. He also served as Turkey's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the same Games.

In 2013, he won the bronze medal in the 68 kg event at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin. The same year, he competed in the 68 kg event at the 2013 World Taekwondo Championships in Puebla. He defeated Vladislav Khan 8–6 before losing 7–5 to Leonardo Cheiban and being eliminated from the tournament.

In 2014, Tazegül became European champion for the fourth time by winning the 68 kg event at the 2014 European Taekwondo Championships in Baku. He defeated Vladimir Dalakliev, Daniel Quesada Barrera and Vladislav Arventii to reach the final. In the final, he beat Russia's Alexey Denisenko by golden point, 1–0.

In 2015, he won his second world title by taking the gold medal in the 68 kg event at the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia. He defeated Miguel Ángel Trejos Salas, Ivan Purešević, Vladimir Dalakliev, Terrence Jennings and Shin Dong-yun to reach the final, where he beat Alexey Denisenko 10–7 to win the gold medal. The same year, he competed at the European Games in Baku. He lost to Poland's Karol Robak in the first round, defeated Brazil's Mário Gentil in the repechage and then lost 19–16 to Alexey Denisenko in the bronze medal match. He also won the bronze medal in the 68 kg event at the Manchester leg of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

In 2016, Tazegül became European champion for the fifth time by winning the 68 kg event at the 2016 European Taekwondo Championships in Montreux. He defeated Boris Ruiz Ambatlle, Benjamin Haines, Vyacheslav Minin and Konstantin Minin to reach the final, where he beat Hamza Adnan Karim 6–5 and won the gold medal.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed in the men's 68 kg event. He defeated Chile's Ignacio Morales Puentes 14–1 in the first round. In the quarter-finals, he lost 19–6 to Russia's Alexey Denisenko. After Denisenko reached the final, Tazegül entered the repechage, where he lost 5–4 to Venezuela's Edgar Jesús Contreras Triana and finished the tournament in seventh place.

In 2017, he competed in the 74 kg event at the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, South Korea. He was eliminated in his opening match after losing 3–2 to Spain's Jorge González Ferrer.

Coaching career

After ending his active sporting career, Tazegül moved into coaching with the Turkish national taekwondo team. In 2019, he became a national team coach and later served as technical director of the Turkish men's national taekwondo team. During his coaching career, he worked with Turkish men's national team athletes in preparation for international championships.

Personal life

Tazegül was born on 26 September 1988 in Nuremberg, West Germany. He comes from a family of Azerbaijani origin that migrated to Germany from the Arpaçay district of Kars, Turkey.

External links

• Servet Tazegül at TaekwondoData
• Servet Tazegül at Olympedia
• Servet Tazegül at Olympics.com