Husein Mehmedov

Husein Mehmedov (25 January 1924 – 9 March 2014) was a Bulgarian wrestler of Turkish descent who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Husein Mekhmedov was of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria and was introduced to wrestling at a young age. Mehmedov competed at heavyweight his entire career and was equally strong at both styles of wrestling. He was selected for the Bulgarian national team in 1950 after his military service with the Bulgarian Army.

Mehmedov had a brief but successful international career. He first competed internationally at the 1955 World Student Games, winning gold in Greco-Roman heavyweight. In 1956, he won bronze in both Greco-Roman and freestyle at the World Cup and established himself as one of the medal contenders in both heavyweight styles at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. At Melbourne, Mekhmedov won silver in freestyle, but had to withdraw from the Greco-Roman event days later after two bouts due to injury. In 1957, he won gold in freestyle and silver in Greco-Roman heavyweight at the World Student Games and later won bronze at the 1957 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships.

Mehmedov finished his competitive career in 1959. He then worked as a wrestling coach in Bulgaria until 1989, when he emigrated to Turkey. He settled in Istanbul, where he died in March 2014 at the age of 90.

Hussein Mehmedov was the father of Resmiye Şengüler, and the grandfather of Mehnur Çakır, Hatice Şengüler, Hüseyin Çakır, and Ata Nuh.