5.09.2016
Olympic Gold Medal winner in wrestling Taha Akgül visits the Olympics Exhibition of Turkey together with his mother Gülbahar Akgül and donates his singlet he wore in the gold medal match to be exhibited in the Olympics Exhibition. Procter & Gamble (P&G) in cooperation with the National Olympic Committee of Turkey (TOC) creates the first Olympics Exhibition of Turkey with many special pieces, including the boxing gloves of Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan’s trainers.
In cooperation with the TOC, P&G’s Olympics Exhibition of Turkey exhibits the singlet worn by Turkey’s Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist wrestler Taha Akgül in the final match.P&G, global sponsor of the Olympic Games, continuies to be the "Proud Sponsor of Moms" by re-launching the "Thank You, Mom" campaign once again for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Taha Akgül, one of the 50 athletes P&G sponsors with the Campaign, visited the Olympics Exhibition and presented his singlet. The singlet, together with many other special pieces, including the boxing gloves of legendary Muhammad Ali and His Majesty of basketball Michael Jordan’s trainers, will be exhibited until the end of September.
“We are proud to sponsor praiseworthy athletes like Taha Akgül and their mothers who raised them.”
Stating that P&G is the greatest supporter of athletes and their mothers in Turkey and the world, CEO of P&G Turkey and Caucasus Tankut Turnaoğlu says “As a global sponsor of the Olympic Games P&G is very proud to sponsor praiseworthy athletes like Taha Akgül and their mothers who raised them within the context of our ‘Thank You, Mom’ campaign. We believe Taha Akgül, Turkey’s only gold medallist at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, did not only made his mother and his country proud but also inspired many Turkish youngsters on their way to future Olympics. It means a lot to us his presenting the singlet he wore during the gold medal match he won to the first ‘Olympics Exhibition of Turkey’ which we opened in collaboration with our valuable stakeholder TOC to inspire the Turkish youth.”
Over 10.000 people visit the Olympics Exhibition
Turnaoğlu, noting that the pieces that marked the Olympic history and exhibited at the P&G Olympics Exhibition for the Turkish sports lovers were proprietarily borrowed from the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Museum in Lausanne, expounded “After some 40.000 visitors in the toured 6 cities of Anatolia, over ten thousand people visited the P&G Olympics Exhibition at the Akasya Shopping Mall in İstanbul.”
“I’m particularly proud to see my singlet displayed together with a treasured piece like the boxing gloves of Muhammad Ali.”
Thanking the P&G for its support extended towards himself and his mother Gülbahar Akgül during Rio 2016, Turkish international wrestler Taha Akgül said “I take a particular pride in seeing that the singlet I wore winning the Olympic gold medal is exhibited along with precious pieces like Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves. Gülbahar Akgül also thanked P&G for siding with not only the athletes but with their mothers as well, said “I’m so happy that I was by my son during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, sharing those unforgettable moments with him.”
“We thank P&G so much for supporting sports, athletes and their mothers like Taha Akgül of whom we are very proud.”
In her speech the TOC Secretary General Neşe Gündoğansaid“As a non-governmental organization established in 1908, the Turkish Olympic Committee is very happy to cooperate with an esteemed corporation like P&G. We are striving to propagate the Olympic values and support sports in Turkey and we have such invaluable partners and stakeholders like P&G in doing so.
Turkey experienced another successful Olympic Games in Rio 2016. Our athletes gave us our fourth most successful Olympic Games with eight medals they won. Turkey had collected 86 medals in total until the Rio games, now the tally is 94 with 39 Gold, 27 Silver and 28 Bronze medals. The only Gold medal in Rio was in wrestling and won by our dear Taha Akgül, making us swell with pride with this achievement.
We are gathered here today for a very special purpose. Taha Akgül’s singlet he wore winning the Olympic gold medal will be exhibited at Turkey’s first Olympics Exhibition. Dear Taha entrusts us this singlet of a very high sentimental value and meaning a lot to him for others to see. We thank him for this lovely gesture.
I would also like to thank P&G a lot for supporting sports, athletes and their mothers. We are so happy to have our valuable sponsor P&G by our side in spreading the Olympic values and supporting sports in our country. We express our thanks for their support.”