Turkey at the 2018 Winter Paralympics facts for kids

Turkey sent an athlete to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Winter Paralympics are a big sports event for athletes with disabilities. Turkey sent one alpine skier named Mehmet Çekiç. They also tried to send athletes for other sports, like wheelchair curling. However, they could not get enough spots for these teams. Turkey first joined the Winter Paralympics in 2014.

Team Turkey at the Games

In December 2017, Turkey's National Paralympic Committee announced their team for Pyeongchang. They chose alpine skier Mehmet Çekiç to represent the country. The Committee worked with Turkey's national ski federation. Together, they made sure Çekiç had everything he needed to prepare.

Turkey hoped to send more athletes to the Games. But it was hard for other athletes to qualify. The President of the National Paralympic Committee of Turkey shared a goal. They want to send more athletes to the 2022 Winter Paralympics. They plan to work very hard to make this happen. It was tough to get more spots for 2018. This was partly because of money issues. Also, the committee supports 18 different sports.

Meet the Team

Here is a list of the athletes who were part of "Team Turkey" for the 2018 Games:

Wheelchair Curling Efforts

Turkey also tried to qualify for wheelchair curling in 2018. The Turkish Physically Disabled Sports Federation created a wheelchair curling team. This was just one year before a big tournament. Winning that tournament, the Wheelchair Curling World Championships B, would have earned them a spot.

The team faced many challenges. They did not perform well enough to qualify. Gökçe Ulugay coached the team. The players included Züleyha Bingöl, Kenan Coşkun, Serpil Arslan, Mesut Güle, and Turan Akalın. This competition was Turkey's first international wheelchair curling event.

Skiers' Qualification Challenges

Other skiers from Turkey also tried to qualify for Pyeongchang. Like the wheelchair curlers, they faced many difficulties. In the end, they were not able to earn spots to compete.

Para-alpine Skiing Events

Para-alpine skiing involves different types of races down a snowy mountain. Mehmet Çekiç competed in this sport.

Race Schedule and Details

The first para-alpine event was the downhill race. It happened on March 10th. The Super-G race followed on March 11th. All skiers raced in the morning.

The super combined event took place on March 13th. It has two parts. Skiers did the Super-G in the morning. Then, they completed the slalom part in the afternoon. The slalom event itself was on March 14th and 15th. Both women and men raced in the mornings. In the afternoons, women did their second run first. Then, the men followed.

The last para-alpine skiing race was the giant slalom. This event was held on March 17th and 18th. Men and women raced at the same time in the morning. In the afternoon, women raced first. Men started their race about 30 minutes after the women finished.

Turkey's Paralympic History

Turkey first competed at the Winter Paralympics in 2014. This was a big step for the country. The Winter Sports division of the National Paralympic Committee started in 2012. This was two years before their first Games.

First Athletes

Esat Hilmi Bayindir earned a spot to compete in 2014. Mehmet Çekiç was also invited to join. He got a spot through a special process called "Bipartite Invitation." This process helps countries that don't have many athletes at the Paralympics.

Esat Hilmi Bayindir has a disability from a traffic accident. He started skiing in 1982. At the time of the 2014 Games, he lived in the United States. Mehmet Çekiç began skiing in France in 2011. He competed in alpine skiing events in France and Italy in 2013. He also has a disability from a traffic accident in 2009. After the 2014 Winter Paralympics, Turkey hoped to send even more athletes to the 2018 Games.

Getting Tickets

If you wanted to buy tickets for the Paralympic Games in Turkey, there was only one official seller. This company was called Setur.

See also

In Spanish: Turquía en los Juegos Paralímpicos de Pyeongchang 2018 para niños