He was born on 21 January 1970 in Suluova district of Amasya Province in northern Turkey. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Mahmut Demir earned the gold medal defeating Aleksei Medvedev from Belarus, the son of the legendary Olympic champion Alexander Medved in the final match.
Mahmut Demir began wrestling in 1984. Already in 1986, he gained his first medal at the Balkan Juniors Championships in Yugoslavia. Mahmut Demir retired from the active sports in 1997.
He is the honorary president of Amasya Şekerspor Kulübü, a club dedicated to wrestling sports in his hometown.
1986 Balkan Juniors Championship in Sombor, Yugoslavia - silver (130 kg).
1986 Balkan Juniors Championship in Sombor, Yugoslavia - silver (130 kg) 1986 World Juniors Championship in Schifferstadt, First Revision Germany - 6th (100 kg) 1986 European Escoir Championship in Linköping, Sweden - 4th (100 kg) 1987 Balkan Juniors Championship in Thessaloniki, Greece - silver (130 kg) 1987 European Championship in Katowice, Poland - bronze (115 kg) 1988 European Escoir Championship in Wałbrzych, Poland - 5th (130 kg) 1988 European Juniors Championship in Constanţa, Romania - silver (100 kg) 1989 World Escoir Championship in Ulan Bator, Mongolia - silver (100 kg) 1989 World Championship in Martigny, Switzerland - 5th (100 kg) 1990 Balkan Juniors Championship in Sakarya, Turkey - gold (100 kg) 1990 European Escoir Championship in ?, Finland - gold (100 kg) 1990 European Championship in Poznań, Poland - bronze (100 kg) 1990 World Championship in Tokyo, Japan - 7th (100 kg) 1990 World Cup in Toledo, Ohio, United States of America - bronze 1991 World Championship in Varna, Bulgaria - 5th (130 kg) 1991 Mediterranean Games in Athens, Greece - gold (130 kg) 1991 European Championship in Stuttgart, Germany - bronze (130 kg) 1992 World Cup in Moscow Russia - 4th 1992 European Championship in Kaposvár, Hungary - silver (130 kg) 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain - 4th (130 kg) 1993 European Championship in Istanbul, Turkey - gold (130 kg) 1994 European Championship in Rome, Italy - silver (130 kg) 1994 World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey - gold (130 kg) 1995 European Championship in Fribourg, Switzerland - gold (130 kg) 1995 World Cup in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States of America - bronze (130 kg) 1995 World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America - 5th (130 kg) 1996 European Championship in Budapest, Hungary - gold (130 kg) 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America - gold (130 kg).
