Ahmet Arslan is a long-distance runner from Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 competing in mountain running. He is five time consecutive champion of European Mountain Running Championships

European Mountain Running Championships

The European Mountain Running Championships is an annual international mountain running race. Inaugurated in 2002, it is organised by the European Athletic Association in July each year. The venue for the championships is changed each year....

.

He was born in 1986 to a farmer's family in Gazipaşa

Gazipasa

Gazipaşa is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, 180 km east of the city of Antalya. Gazipaşa is a quiet rural district famous for its bananas, oranges and international airport...

 of Antalya Province

Antalya Province

Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...

 in southern Turkey. Ahmet Arslan has seven siblings. He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown. After the high school, he attended Adnan Menderes University

Adnan Menderes University

Adnan Menderes University was founded in Aydın, Turkey in 1992. The name of the university comes from the former Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes.-External links:*...

 in Aydın

Aydin

Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...

 and graduated 2009 with a degree in physical education and sports.

Ahmet Arslan started with athletics in 2000 at the high school. He had to discontinue sports in 2004 for one year. After 2005, he begin intensive running training, especially after meeting his coach Metin Sazak, a former athlete. He switched to mountain running from cross-country running. That year, he took part in the national mountain running championships and became successful although he competed in the seniors category despite his young age. Admitted to the national team, he participated at his first international events like the European Mountain Championships and the World Mountain Running Trophy and gained international experience.

From 2007 on, Ahmet Arslan won the European championships five consecutive times. In 2010, he won the gold medal also at the WMRA Grand Prix. He was the silver medallist at the 2011 World Mountain Running Championships

2011 World Mountain Running Championships

The 27th World Mountain Running Championships were held in Tirana, Albania on September 11, 2011. Around 400 athletes from 5 continets were present.-Results:-References:Report*Hussain, Bashir . . IAAF/WMRA. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.Results...

, coming second behind American Max King.

Since mountain running sport is not recognized as an Olympic sports branch, he is complaining about not finding a sponsor for his active sports career.

Achievements

Year	Event	Host	Rank
Junior men's
2005	21st World Mountain Running Trophy	, Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...	4th
Senior men's
2007	6th European Mountain Running Championships 2007 European Mountain Running Championships The 2007 European Mountain Running Championships were held on 14 July in Cauterets, France. Held by the European Athletic Association.The championships comprised four races, incorporating junior races for the first time: the men's race, which was 12.8 km long with a 1,570 m ascent, the...	, Cauterets Cauterets Cauterets is a spa town, a ski resort and a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-Geography:Cauterets is located southwest of Lourdes in the beautiful valley of the Gave de Cauterets and borders the Pyrenees National Park....
2008	7th European Mountain Running Championships 2008 European Mountain Running Championships The 2008 European Mountain Running Championships were held on 12 July in Zell am Harmersbach, Germany. Held by the European Athletic Association, the competition was held on an up- and downhill course in the Black Forest...	, Zell am Harmersbach Zell am Harmersbach Zell am Harmersbach is a small historic city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies in the Ortenaukreis, between the Black Forest and the Rhine.-History:...
	24th World Mountain Running Trophy	, Sierre Sierre Sierre is the capital of the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of 14,355.It is situated on the French–German language border of the canton of Wallis...
2009	8th European Mountain Running Championships 2009 European Mountain Running Championships The 2009 European Mountain Running Championships were held on 12 July in Telfes im Stubai, Austria. They were that year's area championships for mountain running, held by the European Athletic Association. The 2009 edition saw the introduction of two under-20s competitions into the championships...	, Telfes im Stubai
2010	9th European Mountain Running Championships 2010 European Mountain Running Championships The 2010 European Mountain Running Championships were held on 4 July in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria. They were that year's area championships for mountain running, held by the European Athletic Association in conjunction with the Bulgarian Athletic Federation. The competition featured four races, with...	, Sapareva Banya Sapareva Banya Sapareva Banya is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Kyustendil Province. It is located at the north foot of the Rila mountain 15 km east of Dupnitsa...
	WMRA Grand Prix	, Šmarna gora
	26th WMRA World Mountain Running Championships	, Kamnik Kamnik Kamnik is the name of a municipality in Slovenia as well as the town that serves as its administrative, cultural, economic, and educational center. The municipality is in north central Slovenia. It encompasses a large part of the Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area...	7th
2011	10th European Mountain Running Championships 2011 European Mountain Running Championships The 2011 European Mountain Running Championships were held on 10 July at Uludağ in Bursa, Turkey. They were that year's area championships for mountain running, held by the European Athletic Association in conjunction with the Turkish Athletic Federation. The competition featured four races, with...	, Bursa