12 April 2011 - Dr ERDENER elected Turkish NOC President

Dr ERDENER elected Turkish NOC President Lausanne – 12 April 2011   Today, the FITA President and IOC Member Prof Dr Ugur ERDENER, has been nominated unanimously by the Board of the Turkish NOC as their new President succeeding Mr Togay BAYATLI.   Photo: FITA President Prof Dr Ugur ERDENER  This new position at the head of the Turkish National Olympic Committee makes of Dr ERDENER one of the few to have leading roles both in an international sports federation and a National Olympic Committee. Dr ERDENER was the first Turkish sportsman to be elected President of an Olympic sport’s IF when he took the lead of the Archery International Federation (FITA) in 2005. Later on, at the Olympic Session in Beijing 2008, he was elected as IOC Member together with Sergey BUBKA. Coincidentally, the former great athlete is also NOC President in Ukraine and the Senior Vice President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).   Dr ERDENER was born on 15 June 1950. He enrolled in the School of Medicine at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, and in 1977, graduated with his medical degree. Dr ERDENER has spent all of his professional life—both as a physician, and as a faculty member—at Hacettepe University’s School of Medicine. In 1996, he became Associate Professor and in 2000, Dr ERDENER became the General Director and CEO of Hacettepe University Hospitals. Under his direction, the hospital had a major economic development and transformed into one of the only facilities outside of the United States that complies with JCI’s strict evaluative measures. Dr ERDENER is respected for his emphasis on teamwork, scholarly collaboration, professionalism, and quality projects. On 25 December 2007 he became Rector of the University.   Athletics is also a significant aspect of Ugur ERDENER’s life. He was a renowned Turkish athlete in the triple jump and basketball, where he also became a successful coach. Later, he discovered archery and served as President of the Turkish Archery Federation for a duration of 23 years (four terms). He accepted the role as President of the European and Mediterranean Archery Union (EMAU) for five years, and in 2005, he was elected as the FITA President. In this position Dr. ERDENER launched the Archery World Cup circuit in 2006 with a new concept: intense competition in extraordinary venues. Since then, FITA has held events in the heart of the Maya Pyramids in Mexico and beside the famous 7-star hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Other venues included the beautiful Montbenon plaza in the Olympic Capital in Lausanne, the famous Nyhavn Canal in Copenhagen and the historical old town of Edinburgh. In 2009, FITA also launched a new brand, World Archery, which unifies all of the activities, events, and members of the federation under one brand name to be centrally promoted at every level of archery with enthusiasm and passion. FITA has its Headquarters based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has a membership of 144 nations   The World Archery community is proud that Dr ERDENER has now been elected as the new Turkish NOC President.   Tom Dielen FITA Secretary General