Mehmet Ali Akbaş, a former national athlete with gold medals to his name, is not only making waves in various sports but also nurturing the next generation of national athletes at a high school in Eskişehir.
Competing internationally from 2010 to 2016, the 38-year-old Akbaş clinched gold at the Cologne Half Marathon in Germany in 2010 and the Balkan Marathon Championship in Skopje, North Macedonia, in 2012, representing the Turkish flag.
Since transitioning from professional sports, Akbaş has been a beacon of inspiration at the Eskişehir Borsa Istanbul Science High School, guiding students to victory in 32 cups and 170 medals across sports ranging from orienteering to volleyball and from wushu to arm wrestling.
Having produced promising athletes in arm wrestling, orienteering and wushu, Akbaş instills in his students the positive impact of sports on academic success.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), Akbaş, who has been teaching physical education for four years at the Eskişehir Borsa Istanbul Science High School, expressed his passion for athletics, saying: "I prepare my students for competitions. I have students who have made it to the national team or deserve to wear that jersey."
Akbaş shared the success story of 16-year-old Zeynep Yiğit, whom he took to an arm wrestling competition in the ninth grade and who has since been selected for the national team, winning a gold medal last month at the European Youth Arm Wrestling Championship in Slovakia.
Highlighting other achievements, Akbaş mentioned a student in orienteering who has been called up to the national team's roster and another student, Şerife Yorgancılar, who won a gold medal at the European Wushu Championship in Istanbul.
Akbaş takes pride in contributing, alongside coaches, to the development of national athletes.
Acknowledging the success in orienteering at his school over the past three years, Akbaş mentioned that they placed fifth in their first championship in 2022 in Eskişehir.
He also noted that they were the runners-up in girls' orienteering last year and the champions in the boys' category this year, aiming to represent their school and country at the World High School Orienteering Championship.
"Training new national athletes is a special feeling. It makes me happy that my students can feel the emotions I experienced wearing the Turkish jersey. I went through the same paths with them. My biggest desire is for my students to be successful. I tell them that it's an indescribable feeling to hear the Turkish National Anthem and see the Turkish flag raised abroad. Our school is also academically successful. We want to show that our academically successful students can also achieve success through sports. We aim to explain how sports contribute to academic success. I believe we are successful at our school," Akbaş said.
Zeynep Yiğit, a 10th-grade arm wrestling athlete, confirmed that she was selected for the national team in 2022 and 2024.
Expressing her pride in representing Turkey abroad, Zeynep said: "I won a gold medal in the right arm category at the European Arm Wrestling Championship in Slovakia this year. Our exemplary teacher at our school, Mehmet Ali Akbaş, encourages us to participate in sports. He is an inspiration to me for wearing the national jersey."
Bayram Furkan Hızlı, an 11th-grade student who will attend the Orienteering National Team camp, shared that he will wear the national jersey at the European Championship from June 20 to 26.
Arda Sızanlı, the Turkish champion, expressed his satisfaction with his success in orienteering, which he started with physical education teacher Mehmet Ali Akbaş.