 He became so the first ever track and field athlete from Turkey to win a medal at the Olympics and the European Championships.Ruhi Sarıalp became champion at the World Military Athletics Championships held 1951 in Rome, Italy by breaking the World record.He repeated his first place in the same championships of 1952

After leaving the active sports, Ruhi Sarıalp served as a lecturer for physical education in the School of Maritime at Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ).