Rıza Kayaalp is preparing for another world championship with a bigger prize still in sight.
The 36-year-old Turkish Greco-Roman wrestler is targeting a sixth world title at the 2026 World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, while keeping his ultimate goal firmly fixed on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Kayaalp, a five-time world and 13-time European champion, is currently training with Türkiye’s Greco-Roman national team at a high-altitude camp in Erzurum ahead of the Oct. 24-Nov. 1 world championships.
The team has been combining indoor sessions at its hotel with walks on Mount Palandöken as it looks to sharpen its conditioning before heading to Astana.
For Kayaalp, the Erzurum camp is also part of a carefully measured plan to extend his career to Los Angeles.
“This is the first time we are holding our final camp at such a high altitude,” Kayaalp said. “We think it will be good for us. I am sure I will get the benefit of the high altitude. If it works well, perhaps we will come here for the championships leading up to 2028 and maybe even the 2028 Olympics.”
Kayaalp has already built one of the most decorated careers in European wrestling. His 13 European titles moved him past Russian great Aleksandr Karelin's record, while his five world championships have established him among the sport's elite.
Yet one major prize remains missing from his collection: an Olympic gold medal.
Kayaalp has won three Olympic medals during his career, but he has never stood on the top step of the podium. He hopes to change that in Los Angeles.
Before then, he plans to compete at two more world championships and two European championships, using those tournaments to maintain his competitive sharpness and stay in peak condition for his final Olympic campaign.
“The Olympics are my most important goal,” Kayaalp said. “There are two years until the Olympics, and before then there are two world championships and two European championships. Of course, the goal is to win those championships as well, but my biggest goal is the Olympics.”
Kayaalp also dismissed the idea that financial rewards have been the driving force behind his lengthy career.
“If we were doing this for money, we would do something else and try to invest what we earned,” he said. “Our goal was to win medals and break records in Europe and the world. The only medal I have not won is the Olympic gold. That is my goal.”
The veteran wrestler acknowledged the demands of continuing at the highest level at his age, particularly after already achieving so much.
“It is not easy to endure all these difficulties at this age when you have already achieved so many things,” he said. “We have a debt of loyalty to our country. It is our duty to repay it.”
Kayaalp said Türkiye supported him from his early days in wrestling and helped develop him into an international champion, giving him another reason to continue competing despite the physical demands of the sport.
“We have a state that took us from the village and raised us,” he said. “That is why our goal is always to give back for as long as we are physically able. We are continuing to achieve that.”
His immediate focus, however, is Astana.
Kayaalp wants to remain competitive through the championships leading up to Los Angeles, with every tournament serving a broader purpose as he attempts to preserve his strength, fitness and experience for one final Olympic push.
“I need to stay fit and strong until I get there,” he said. “Whatever needs to be done in terms of training, I will do it. God willing, perhaps it will happen later, but maybe that is a lesson to be grateful. We should ask, work and believe. With God's help, why can't it happen?”
