Minister Bak’s visit to support athletes preparing for the Paris Olympics

Minister of Youth and Sports Dr. Osman Aşkın Bak visited national athletes who will represent Turkey in athletics, swimming, and gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to show support. The dialogue between Minister Bak and national swimmer Kuzey Tunçelli and national athlete Yasmani Copello was full of colorful moments. Minister of Youth and Sports Dr. Osman Aşkın Bak visited national athletes, swimmers, and gymnasts preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games during a support visit in Antalya where they were in training camp. Minister Bak first met with national athletes and swimmers at the Gloria Sports Arena camp. While greeting the athletes, Minister Bak complimented national swimmer Kuzey Tunçelli by patting him on the shoulder and saying ‘You’ve got charisma!’ as he shook his hand. When shaking hands with national athlete Yasmani Copello, who will compete in the Olympics for the fourth time, Minister Bak praised him by saying ‘You are the most senior, the most experienced.’ Minister Bak asked Copello’s coach about the athlete’s preparation status, and upon hearing ‘It would be good if he straightened his head a bit,’ Minister Bak jokingly placed the athlete’s head between his hands and said ‘Okay, his head is straight now!’ which brought smiles. ‘We need to raise the bar a bit’ Minister Bak chatted with national athletes and coaches about Olympic preparations, emphasizing his trust in the athletes, stating, ‘It takes a lot of hard work to reach the top and be successful there. There are very strong countries and athletes in swimming. Standing out among them is important. Getting a quota and participating in the Olympics is crucial. We need to raise the bar a bit more. The success our athletes will achieve will make our nation very happy. We believe we will succeed.’ After the conversation, Minister Dr. Osman Aşkın Bak toured the facility, watched national athletes’ training for a while, and met with national gymnasts. ‘You have paved a very nice path for Turkish Gymnastics’ Minister Bak then visited the national gymnasts preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Antalya İbrahim Çolak Gymnastics Hall. Meeting with the Artistic Gymnastics Men’s National Team, who moved to Antalya for the final preparation stage after the camp in Izmir, Minister Bak showed great interest in the athletes. Minister Bak inquired about the current status of national athletes and coaches who are continuing their preparations at the Antalya İbrahim Çolak Gymnastics Hall. Minister Bak, stating that Turkish Gymnastics is on a good path, said, ‘You have paved a very nice path for Turkish Gymnastics at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Now, the fact that you will participate as a team in Paris 2024 makes us very happy. You are going through a good preparation period. Team participation is important. Hopefully, our nation will rejoice in your successes. We believe in this. I wish you success. Our prayers are with you, may your path be clear.’ During Minister Bak’s visits, Director General of Sports Services Assoc. Dr. Veli Ozan Çakır, Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintimar, Swimming Federation President Erkan Yalçın, and Gymnastics Federation President Suat Çelen were also present.