Türkiye at Paris 2024: Historic wins, record-breaking feats
During the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics in France, the delegations of participating countries greeted the spectators by sailing along the Seine River in Paris, France on 26 July, 2024. (AA Photo)
Türkiye has demonstrated its prowess across various disciplines throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, achieving notable successes and facing intense competition.
With over a week of action-packed events, it can be challenging to keep track of every athlete’s achievements.
Here’s a detailed overview of Türkiye’s successes, challenges, and standout performances up to Aug. 7, 2024.
Artistic Gymnastics: Adem Asil, Ferhat Arican’s final performances
Turkish gymnasts made a strong impression at the start of the Games.
Adem Asil: On July 27, Asil secured a spot in the rings final by finishing fifth in the qualification rounds. He went on to compete in the final on Aug. 4, finishing fifth with a score of 14.966.
Ferhat Arican: Arican also advanced to the parallel bars final by placing seventh in the qualifications and came fifth during the finals on August 5.
Shooting: Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, Yusuf Dikec‘s historic achievements
Sevval Ilayda Tarhan became the first Turkish female shooter to reach the final in the 10-meter air pistol event on July 27, scoring 577 points and finishing seventh in the final on July 28.
Alongside Yusuf Dikec, she set an Olympic record in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with 582 points on July 29.
The duo clinched the silver medal on July 30, securing Türkiye’s first Olympic shooting medal. In the men’s 10m air pistol event, Ismail Keles and Yusuf Dikec finished 10th and 13th, respectively.
Hatice Akbas, Esra Yildiz Kahraman’s medal quest at boxing
Turkish boxers have shown exceptional skill and determination.
Hatice Akbas won her match against Charley Davison of Great Britain in the women’s 54kg category on July 27 and continued her journey by defeating Australian Tiana Echegaray on July 30 to advance to the quarterfinals. She secured a medal by defeating South Korean Aeji Im in the semifinals on August 4 with a score of 3-2, advancing to the finals where she will face Chinese boxer Yuan Chang on August 8.
Esra Yildiz Kahraman impressed in the women’s 57kg category, advancing to the round of 16 on July 30 by defeating Marine Fatoumatta Colette Camara of Mali. She guaranteed a medal by reaching the semifinals on August 2.
In other matches, Gizem Ozer and Samet Gumus faced tough opponents and were eliminated early.
Buse Naz Cakiroglu secured her place in the women’s 50kg final after a dominant 5-0 victory over Filipino Aira Villegas on August 6. She is set to face Yu Wu of China in the finals on August 8.
Turkish wrestler Buse Tosun Cavusoglu secures bronze
On August 6, Buse Tosun Cavusoglu won a bronze medal in the women’s 68kg freestyle wrestling category. Competing at the Champ de Mars Arena, Cavusoglu initially lost in the first round to Amit Elor of the United States.
However, Elor’s advancement to the finals allowed Cavusoglu another opportunity through the repechage rounds. In the repechage, she defeated Poland’s Viktorya Choluj and then triumphed over North Korea’s Sol Gum Pak in the bronze medal match with a score of 4-2.
Mete Gazoz leads Türkiye to historic bronze medal in archery
The Turkish men’s archery team, consisting of Mete Gazoz, Abdullah Yildirmis and Ulas Berkim Tumer, created history on July 29 by winning the bronze medal, defeating the Chinese team 6-2. This marked the first team medal for Türkiye in Olympic archery.
Individually, Mete Gazoz continued his excellent form, reaching the quarterfinals in the men’s individual event but was eliminated by South Korean Woojin Kim on Aug. 4.
Rowing: Elis Ozbay’s resilient journey
Elis Ozbay: Ozbay showcased resilience and determination in rowing. She participated in the women’s single sculls heat on July 27 and advanced to the repechage round. She finished second in her repechage race on July 28, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Despite a strong effort, Ozbay competed in the C/D semifinals on July 30, finishing fourth and advancing to the D final, where she finished 22nd overall on Aug. 2.
Sailing: Merve Vatan, Ecem Guzel represent Türkiye
Merve Vatan: She faced challenging weather conditions in the IQ Foil races, which were postponed on July 28.
She resumed competition on July 29, finishing 22nd and 23rd in her first two races and continued competing, finishing 19th overall after the first seven races.
In the ILCA 6 category, Ecem Guzel finished 18th overall after eight races, while Yigit Citak finished 23rd in the ILCA 7 category.
Turkish swimmer Kuzey Tuncelli’s record-breaking performances
Kuzey Tuncelli made history by setting a Turkish record in the men’s 800 meter freestyle heats on July 29, finishing 11th overall.
He continued to shine by setting another Turkish record in the men’s 1500m freestyle heats on July 30, advancing to the final. On Aug. 2, Tuncelli finished fifth in the final, setting a world junior record and achieving Türkiye’s best result in Olympic swimming history.
Berkay Omer Ogretir and Berke Saka delivered strong performances but did not advance beyond the preliminary rounds in their respective events.
Turkish Women’s Volleyball Team’s road to semifinals
The Turkish women’s volleyball team demonstrated their skill and determination during a remarkable comeback on July 29, defeating the Netherlands 3-2 in their first match of Group C after being 2-0 down.
They continued their strong performance by defeating the Dominican Republic 3-1 on July 31, securing a spot in the quarterfinals. Despite losing to Italy 3-1 on Aug. 3, they advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face China on Aug. 6.
On August 6, they achieved a historic victory against China in a thrilling match, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in their history.
The match ended with a 3-2 win for Türkiye, with Melissa Vargas leading the team with 42 points. The team will face the winner of the Italy-Serbia match on August 8.
