Türkiye made history at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, achieving its best-ever performance in the event held from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 in the French capital.
Competing against 182 countries, including the Refugee Paralympic Team and Neutral Paralympic Athletes, Türkiye marked a significant achievement with a record medal haul.
With a delegation of 94 athletes – the largest in its history – Türkiye clinched 28 medals: six gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze.
This performance doubled the gold medal count from Rio 2016 and nearly doubled the total medal count from Tokyo 2020, setting new records in both categories.
Goalball history
At just 23, para-swimmer Umut Ünlü etched his name into Turkish sports history by winning two gold medals in the 50-meter and 200-meter freestyle S3 categories.
Ünlü not only secured Türkiye’s first-ever gold medals in Paralympic swimming but also became the first Turkish athlete to win two golds in a single Paralympic Games.
The goalball women’s team continued their dominance, winning their third consecutive gold medal at Paris 2024, following victories in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Historic firsts
Öznur Cüre Girdi ended Türkiye’s 16-year wait for a gold in para-archery, following Gizem Girişmen’s achievement in Beijing in 2008.
Cüre Girdi won gold in the women’s compound bow category.
Additionally, Türkiye secured its first-ever gold medals in para-taekwondo and para-judo.
Mahmut Bozteke won gold in men’s 63 kg. (approximately 139 lbs) K44 taekwondo and İbrahim Bölükbaşı achieved gold in men’s +90 kg. J2 judo.
Türkiye also celebrated its first gold in para-archery and para-taekwondo at the Games.
In wheelchair fencing, Hakan Akkaya earned a bronze medal in the epee A category, marking Türkiye’s first fencing medal at both the Olympics and Paralympics.
Historic medal counts
Türkiye set a record by winning medals in 10 different sports at Paris 2024.
The country’s athletes excelled in swimming, archery, shooting, taekwondo, athletics, table tennis, fencing, weightlifting, judo and goalball.
Türkiye achieved a significant milestone by winning medals in all three impairment categories at Paris 2024.
Athletes with physical disabilities, visual impairments and intellectual disabilities all contributed to Türkiye’s medal tally.
The Games marked Türkiye’s first medals won by special athletes.
Aysel Önder earned silver in the women’s 400 meters T20, Fatma Damla Altın took bronze in the long jump T20, and Kübra Korkut won bronze in para-table tennis Class 11.
World records set
Türkiye claimed two world records during the Games. Aysel Önder set a new world and Paralympic record in the 400 meters T20 with a time of 54.96 seconds.
Öznur Cüre Girdi also set new world and Paralympic records with 704 points in the women’s compound bow ranking rounds.
Para-swimming was Türkiye’s standout discipline, while para-taekwondo athletes won the most medals.
Türkiye achieved two golds and one bronze in para-swimming, and para-taekwondo athletes secured five medals, including one gold, three silver and one bronze.
In team sports, the goalball women’s team maintained their champion status.
Overall, Türkiye’s success at Paris 2024 underscores the nation’s growing prowess in the Paralympic arena. The final tally of 28 medals brings Türkiye’s total to 66 across all.
Yıldırım’s legal battles
The Turkish Paralympic Committee is pursuing legal action after Serkan Yıldırım’s gold medal in para-athletics 100 meters T12 was stripped following an appeal by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Yıldırım, a gold medal favorite in the 400 meters T12, was also barred from competing. The outcome of the legal proceedings will determine if Yıldırım’s medal will be reinstated.
Medal winners
Here is a summary of Türkiye’s medal winners at Paris 2024:
Gold: goalball Women’s Team, Öznur Cüre Girdi (Women’s compound bow), Umut Ünlü (50m freestyle S3, 200m freestyle S3), Mahmut Bozteke (Men’s K44 63 kg. taekwondo), İbrahim Bölükbaşı (Men’s +90 kg. J2 judo)
Silver: Sadık Savaş-Merve Nur Eroğlu (Mixed team recurve archery), Aysel Önder (Women’s 400m T20), Muhammet Khalvandi (Men’s javelin F57), Abdullah Kayapınar (Men’s 49 kg. weightlifting), Besra Duman (Women’s 55 kg. weightlifting), Kübra Korkut (Women’s S7 table tennis), Alican Özcan (Men’s K44 58 kg. taekwondo), Fatih Çelik (Men’s K44 70 kg. taekwondo), Gamze Gürdal (Women’s K44 57 kg. taekwondo), Aysel Özgan (Women’s P2 10m air pistol SH1)
Bronze: Fatma Damla Altın (Women’s long jump T20), Ecem Taşın Çavdar (Women’s 48 kg. J1 judo), Cahide Eke (Women’s 48 kg. J2 judo), Nazan Akın Güneş (Women’s +70 kg. J1 judo), Nazmiye Muratlı (Women’s 45 kg. weightlifting), Sibel Çam (Women’s 73 kg. weightlifting), Sevilay Öztürk (Women’s 50m butterfly S5), Ali Öztürk (Men’s Class 5 table tennis), Abdullah Öztürk-Nesim Turan (Men’s Class 4 doubles table tennis), Ebru Acer (Women’s Class 11 table tennis), Meryem Betül Çavdar (Women’s K44 52 kg. taekwondo), Hakan Akkaya (Men’s epee A category fencing)
