The 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m), also known as the World Short Course Swimming Championship, was hosted from December 10 to 15 at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary. While Türkiye received its first exciting achievement from Kuzey Tunçelli with a bronze, Emre Sakçı also made his nation proud by clinching a silver medal on the final day of the tournament.
Emre Sakçı is a Turkish national swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. He has been an athlete for Fenerbahçe Sports Club since 2010.
At the World Short-Course Swimming Championships, the athlete competed in the men’s 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter breaststroke, 100-meter breaststroke, and 100-meter medley categories. Before heading to the final, Sakçı had qualified by ranking fourth overall with a time of 25.67 in the 50-meter breaststroke semifinals. Although he was the leader during the first segment of the race, Fenerbahçe’s swimmer finished second with a time of 25.56, 0.14 seconds behind China’s Qin Haiyang who secured first place with a time of 25.42. Russia’s Kirill Prigoda was the last to complete the podium as he finished third with an identical time of 25.56.
By securing a silver medal in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke, Sakçı not only garnered yet another achievement to his career but also won Türkiye’s first silver medal in a World Championship.
“This was my first medal in the World Championship. Also a first for my country. These are great things but it's more important for them to become a tradition. Winning a medal is a success, but sustaining the podiums are what truly matters to me. We have this potential. We can do it,” said Sakçı.
The two national swimmers of Fenerbahçe Sports Club, Sakçı and Tunçelli brought immense joy and pride to their country from Hungary. While Kuzey earned bronze medal and broke the 17, 18, 19+ age group Türkiye and World Junior records in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle final with a time of 14:20.64, Emre won a silver medal in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke. The Turkish team returned home with 1 silver and 1 bronze medal from the championship.
“Feeling that you are paving the way, showing that something can be achieved, these are what we are striving for. This is very meaningful to me, and I believe it's the same for Kuzey. We have potential within us,” he stated. “We are carrying a flag. We will bring this flag to a certain point and future generations will carry it even further. As a country, as a club, we believe that in much better and brighter days, with the accomplishments and medals we deserve and can achieve, we will continue to make our name known.”
Sakçı is mostly known for breaking both national and global records. Currently, he holds Türkiye’s long-course records in the 50-meter freestyle, 50 and 100-meter breaststroke, 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley categories. Furthermore, he holds numerous Turkish short-course records including 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter individual medley.
The athlete also holds the men’s 50-meter breaststroke short-course world record with 24.95 seconds.
During the 2020 International Swimming League (ISL), the athlete broke the short course European record for the men’s 50-meter breaststroke twice. Initially, he became the first Turkish swimmer to break a European record outside the junior category by setting a record time of 25.50 seconds. Soon, Sakçı improved his personal record and came within 0.04 seconds of the world record. He holds the men’s 50-meter breaststroke European short-course record with a time of 25.29 seconds.
Previously, Sakçı claimed a gold medal in the 2024 European Championships, and two silver and one bronze in the European Short-Course Championships (25m) in 2019, 2021, 2023 respectively. He also won a bronze in the Swimming World Cup. A silver in the World Swimming Championships (25m) was his sixth medal in the major international stages.
Emre Sakçı continues to inspire future generations by executing the art of swimming with a passion of breaking records and establishing newer grounds for others to strive for. As Sakçı remarks, earning medals is important as a motivating factor but what truly matters is for these medals to become sustainable. While Sakçı and Tunçelli pave the way by creating a solid example of determination, hard work and success, as a nation, we must actively encourage and support future generations of athletes to engage in sports, cultivating their talents and nurturing a tradition of athletic excellence.
Edited by: Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu