The 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m), also known as the World Short Course Swimming Championship, took place at the Duna Arena in Budapest from 10 to 15 December. Among the Turkish national swimmers that competed in the championship, Kuzey Tunçelli shone once again by executing an outstanding performance following the major achievement he demonstrated in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
The national athlete competed in the men's 1500-meter freestyle final and finished in third place on December 10. The 17-years-old swimmer garnered a bronze medal with a time of 14:20.64 and marked yet another historic milestone in Turkish swimming as he became the first Turkish swimmer to secure a medal in the senior world championships. He also broke the short course world junior record by 7.14 seconds with this performance, surpassing Gregorio Paltrinieri who previously held the record since 2012.
This remarkable success set new records for ages 17, 18, and 19+ in Turkish swimming. Kuzey further competed in the men’s 800-meter freestyle and finished in eighth place with a time of 7:42.39 on December 14. Another record came from national swimmer Berke Saka who also competed in the 200-meter individual medley final and broke the 19+ Turkish record with a time of 1:53.29, finishing 7th in the world.
A message congratulating the young swimmer was published by the Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak stating, "I congratulate our national athlete Kuzey Tunçelli, who broke the world junior record with a time of 14:20.64 in the 1500-meter freestyle at the World Short Course Swimming Championships held in Budapest, Hungary, and won the bronze medal, allowing us to experience a first. I thank those who contributed to the achievement of our national swimmer, who brought us pride by becoming the first Turkish swimmer to win a medal in the senior world championships. I wish Kuzey Tunçelli continued success in his career.”
“I am very happy and proud. I am grateful to bring this joy to Türkiye and the Turkish people. This is just the beginning, I hope that the championships and records ahead of us will be even better,” said Tunçelli in an interview after his victory.
Kuzey Tunçelli is a licensed athlete of Fenerbahçe Sports Club since November 2021. His swimming career consists of numerous medals and records in both local and global championships.
At the Long Course National Team Trials in 2021, he broke a record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:38.05 which earned him a place in the national team for the first time. In 2023, Tunçelli claimed first place in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 14:56.67 in the Stefano Nurra Memorial Turkey Star-Youth and Open Age Long Course National Team Trials and achieved the Olympic qualifying standard. He further became the youngest swimmer in the world to break the 15-minute barrier (15 years and 240 days), which he still holds, the previous record was held by Croatian swimmer Franko Grgic at 16 years and 44 days.
In September 2023, he secured a victory in both the 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events at the World Junior Championships in Israel. Tunçelli qualified to compete in two different distances at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics as he surpassed the Olympic A standard.
At the European Aquatics Championships last June, the Fenerbahçe’s athlete claimed his first European senior championship title by winning the 1500 m freestyle with a time of 14:55.64. He previously set championship records in the same competition in 2023.
In July, the European Junior Swimming Championships was held in Vilnius, Lithuania. Tunçelli won gold medals in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events there. He set a new world junior swimming record with a time of 14:41.89 in the 1500-meter freestyle. His performance also broke the European Junior, Championship, and Türkiye records for the 17-18-19+ age categories. This was the second consecutive time Kuzey became the European Junior Champion.
The young swimmer represented Türkiye at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Although Tunçelli finished second in the 800-meter freestyle heat on July 29 with a Turkish record time of 7:47.29, he ranked 11th overall and could not advance to the finals.
However, as the tournament proceeded, Tunçelli added yet another title next to his name and became the first Turkish swimmer to compete in an Olympic Games final. Initially, he finished first in his heat with a time of 14:45.27 and reached the final. At La Défense Arena, Tunçelli came in fifth place with a time of 14:41.22 in the 1500-meter freestyle final, improving his own world junior record by 67 hundredths of a second.
Currently, the Turkish swimmer holds one gold medal in European Championships, three gold and two bronze in European Junior Championships, two gold in World Junior Swimming Championships and one bronze in World Swimming Championships (25) in total.
Kuzey Tunçelli continues to bring pride and joy to his country with his accomplishments in swimming. He keeps setting the bar higher for both his competitors and future generations in each championship he competes. While his relentless mindset that strives for continuous success inspires all of us, we remain showing fullest support to our national athlete in the competitions ahead of him.
Edited by: Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu