Background
He was born in 1938 in Eskiköy, a village of Doğanşar district in Sivas Province in the eastern part of Central Anatolia as the sixth child of a poor family.
He was born in 1938 in Eskiköy, a village of Doğanşar district in Sivas Province in the eastern part of Central Anatolia as the sixth child of a poor family.
He began wrestling as a youngster in the traditional Turkish yağlı güreş (oil wrestling). Ahmet Ayık defeated the legendary wrestlers like Gholamreza Takhti from Iran and Alexander Medved of Soviet/Belarus. He was the only wrestler in his time whom Alexander Medved was not able to beat.
In 1980, Ahmet Ayık co-founded the Turkish Wrestling Foundation and became 1993 the chairman of this organization.
Between 1996 and 2000, he served as the president of the Turkish Wrestling Federation. Ahmet Ayık has been married since 1958 and has three children.
1962 Adriatic Cup in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia - silver (87 kg).
1962 Adriatic Cup in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia - silver (87 kg) 1963 Mediterranean Games in Naples, Italy - gold (97 kg) 1964 Balkan Championships in Constanţa, Romania - gold (87 kg) 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan - silver (97 kg) 1965 International Tournament in Tblisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic - gold (97 kg) 1965 World Championships in Manchester, England - gold (97 kg) 1966 World Championships in Toledo, Ohio, United States. - silver (97 kg) 1966 European Championships in Karlsruhe, Germany - silver (97 kg) 1967 European Championships in Istanbul, Turkey - gold (97 kg) 1967 World Championships in New Delhi, India - gold (97 kg) 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico - gold (97 kg) 1970 European Championships in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic - gold (100 kg).
He is also a member of the board of International Wrestling Federation (FILA) since 1998.
