Physical Training and Selim Sirri Tarcan in Sports (1874-1957)

Abstract

Selim Sirri Tarcan was one of the most important figures in physical training and sports during the Second Constitutional Monarchy and Republican periods. Following completing his education of physical training in Sweden, Tarcan returned to his homeland and started a great mobility in the field of physical training in the country through his activities. On one hand, he attached importance both to the mental and physical development of the young generation through the spread of the courses of physical training in schools. On the other hand, he carried out Olympic activities in order to reveal the presence of the Turks in the field of sports in the international arena. Tarcan, who led the spread of physical training and sports in the country with his thoughts and views, shaped policies of physical training and sports in health and social fields in the Turkish modernization while helping usher in intellectual, moral and physical development of the Turkish society.