She was born in Mamak, Ankara as the third child of a poor family from the town of Hafik in Sivas, Central Anatolia. Taylan was discovered aged 11 by the Turkish national athlete and her later coach Mehmet Üstündağ as he was her teacher in physical education at the Mamak Secondary School in Ankara.[citation needed]
Only 1.52 m (5 ft) tall, she lifted two World and five Olympic records in the women's 48 kg category at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Taylan is Turkey's first ever female Olympic gold medalist.[1]
Scandals
In September 2004, a Turkish court ordered the arrest of the coach of the Turkish women's weightlifting team, Mehmet Üstündağ, after three female athletes filed complaints of sexual harassment against him. In court, Üstündağ denied allegations of repeated physical sexual molestation going back several years, fielded by Sibel Şimşek, Aylin Daşdelen and Şule Şahbaz, all of them members of the Turkish women's team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
But the court ordered him to be placed under detention in view of the "alleged crime's nature, the evidence collected and feelings of anger it has inspired in the public". The allegations first hit the media in early September when the three athletes gave extensive interviews to newspapers and television channels. Daşdelen told a television news program that Üstündağ also made it a habit of "beating" his charges, going so far as to blame the trainer for the 1999 suicide of teammate Esma Can. The only support for Üstündağ came from Taylan, who in turn "accused" her three teammates of being lesbians. Turkish sports officials immediately launched an official investigation. Üstündağ had come under investigation on similar charges four years ago, but the evidence was inconclusive. The Turkish Weightlifting Federation did not allow Taylan to participate at the 2005 European Weightlifting Championship held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Team Points: 28-25-23-22-21-20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points are distributed for the 1st to 25th place for the individual lifts and the total.