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Defne Kurt makes history with five gold medals at European Para Swimming Championships
Twenty-six-year-old Defne Kurt won gold in all five events she entered at the European Para Swimming Championships, held in Kocaeli from September 7 to 12. The national swimmer aims to use next year's World Para Swimming Championships as preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games and seeks to succeed in every category.
Twenty-six-year-old Defne Kurt won gold in all five events she competed in at the European Para Swimming Championships, held in Kocaeli from September 7 to 12.
With this result, Defne became the first Turkish athlete to win five gold medals at a European Championship. The successful swimmer will prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games after next year's World Para Swimming Championships.
Her goal is the 2028 Paralympic Games
Defne Kurt said she regards every tournament as an important step on the road to the Paralympic Games. Emphasizing the importance of regular training, Kurt said missing one day of training could set her back by two days.
Defne said she would treat next year's world championships as part of her preparation for the Paralympic Games and expressed her desire to win gold in every event she enters at the Games.
"I will work as hard as I can and show the best version of Defne in the pool. My goal is always to compete against myself and strive to become better than I was before."
"An athlete with a strong desire to win"
Defne's coach, Nuriye Renin Gemicioğlu Oyeniyi, said she was proud of her athlete. Oyeniyi described Defne's return to a level close to her previous performance following a traffic accident as a significant achievement.
Oyeniyi said Defne was an athlete with a strong desire to win and explained that she experienced pain, fatigue and numbness in her feet during training and competitions. The coach stressed that this achievement, which may appear easy from the outside, was the result of an intensive preparation process.
Oyeniyi said competing in five events in succession meant swimming a total of 10 times and noted that Defne was given time to recover with the assistance of a physiotherapist. Oyeniyi said they would continue competing toward their goals as long as Defne maintained her high level of performance, adding that the athlete loved her country and swimming.
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