Serkan Yıldırım, the national athlete who broke the world record in the 100 and 400 meters at the IPC Para Athletics World Championships in Kobe, Japan, and Ayhan Yıldırım, the President of the Turkish Federation of the Visually Impaired, met with the media for breakfast in Ankara.
President of the Turkish Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired Ayhan Yıldırım and national athlete Serkan Yıldırım, who broke world records in the 100 and 400 meters at the IPC Para Athletics World Championships in Kobe, Japan, held a press conference at a hotel in Ankara. Speaking at the press conference, Ayhan Yıldırım, President of the Turkish Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired, noted that Paralympic athlete Serkan Yıldırım won the biggest success in Turkish sports history at the World Championships in Japan and said, “Serkan Yıldırım broke the world records in 100 and 400 meters and won 2 gold medals for our country. He made the whole world listen to our National Anthem in Kobe. I would like to congratulate and thank our athlete again in your presence for giving us this honor. As a federation, we work hard in return for the support provided by the state. We only have to work on the field, it is our Ministry of Youth and Sports that paves the way for us. Our Minister of Sports, Mr. Osman Aşkın Bak has a lot of support for us. Our Deputy Minister Hamza Yerlikaya has always been with us, we had promised him 2 medals, especially at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. They followed and supported us in this process. We had the honor of returning from the World Championships with 2 gold medals. Our General Director of Sports Services, Mr. Veli Ozan Çakır, has been supporting us since the day he arrived. With this support, we offer more opportunities to our athletes.”
“WORLD RECORDS WERE WRITTEN IN THE NAME OF OUR NATION”
Expressing that it is a great happiness to share his joy after winning 2 gold medals by breaking records in 100 and 400 meters at the World Championships, National Athlete Serkan Yıldırım said, “Of course, the medals and world records I won were not written in my name, but in the name of our country and our nation. I hope that with the prayers of you and our nation, I will experience such joy at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.”
SHE TOLD HER LIFE STORY IN TEARS
“I started athletics as a normal athlete, then I started Paralympic sports due to the progression of the disability in my eyes,” said record holder Para national athlete Serkan Yıldırım, “I had very difficult days. Our federation president provided all kinds of support. I won 2 gold medals in the races I took part in after the doctor control in Italy in order to get a quota for the World Championship in Japan. I was actually a 400-meter runner in the World Championship, I was doing 400-meter training, but I had a chance for 100 meters. My first race was the 100-meter race and we had a lot of stress. Of course, I was not expected to win a gold medal, we had come this far, I was the first athlete in the selection. The race started in Kobe and when we crossed the finish line in the best way, I didn’t understand, when my president said, ‘You came first and broke the world record,’ we experienced great joy. I hope that with the prayers of you and our nation, with the support of our state, we will experience great joy after the Paris Paralympic Games, just like today.”
