175 swimmers from 11 clubs competed in the long course at the “13+ Year-Old Long Course Swimming Championships,” hosted by the Near East University Olympic Swimming Pool.
The 13+ Year-Old Long Course Swimming Championships, organized by the Northern Cyprus Water Sports Federation and held at the Near East University Olympic Swimming Pool, provided young athletes with the opportunity to develop their technical skills and endurance. The event, held at the Near East University Olympic Swimming Pool, the island’s only indoor long course pool, fostered competition among clubs and provided experience.
175 athletes from 11 clubs participated in the three-day races, competing fiercely in the 50-meter Olympic-sized pool. The young swimmers achieved significant success by exceeding the Turkish Swimming Federation (TYF) qualifying times with their performances at the championship.
Golden Strokes Passed the Barrage!
Akman Tüzünkan, one of the young athletes from the Near East Swimming Club, impressed with his performance at the 13+ Year Old Long Course Swimming Championships. He achieved three qualifying points in the 14-15 age category with times of 00:26.33 in the 50-meter freestyle, 00:30.37 in the 50-meter backstroke, and 00:28.83 in the 50-meter butterfly. In the same age group, Özkan Mazhar also passed the qualifying points with times of 00:28.31 in the 50-meter butterfly and 00:33.64 in the 50-meter breaststroke.
In the 16-17-18 age category, Barkan Cem Aykut passed the national cutoff with times of 0:31.61 in the 50-meter breaststroke and 0:10.55 in the 100-meter breaststroke. Erten Can Kasımoğlu, competing in the 13-year-old category, also made the national cutoff with a time of 0:35.15 in the 50-meter breaststroke, becoming a notable contender at the championship.
29 gold, 14 silver, and 10 bronze medals!
The Near East Swimming Club’s athletes also attracted attention with the medals they won. They won 21 gold, 7 silver, and 9 bronze medals in the men’s category, and 8 gold, 7 silver, and 1 bronze medals in the women’s category. Thus, the young athletes finished the championship with a total of 53 medals: 29 gold, 14 silver, and 10 bronze.
Avni Cankurt: “Our goal is to enable more young people to take advantage of these opportunities and to promote swimming in all segments of society.”
Avni Cankurt, Director of the Near East University Olympic Swimming Pool, emphasized that the 13+ Year-Old Long Course Swimming Championship they hosted was highly productive for all swimming clubs and athletes. Cankurt stated, “Each race not only tests our athletes’ technical skills and endurance, but also provides valuable experience that prepares them to compete on national and international platforms.” He added that as the only Olympic-standard pool in the country, they are delighted to provide long course experience to the country’s athletes. Avni Cankurt also said, “Our goal is to ensure that more young people benefit from these opportunities and to promote swimming among all segments of society.”
