Turkish athletes bag record medals at Paris 2024 Paralympics

Türkiye has reached a milestone at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, securing 20 medals—three gold, ten silver, and seven bronze—a record for the country.

On Thursday, the ninth day of the games in Paris, the Turkish women's goalball team secured their third consecutive Paralympic gold by defeating Israel 8-3. The team first bagged gold at the Rio 2016 games and then at Tokyo 2020.

Notably, goalball star Sevda Altunoluk emerged as the top scorer with 21 goals in six matches. Altunoluk now boasts six gold medals from the 2014, 2018, and 2022 world championships, in addition to the Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

In para table tennis, national athlete Kübra Korkut secured silver after a hard-fought 3-2 victory against reigning champion Kelly van Zon of the Netherlands.

Korkut’s achievement makes her Türkiye's first female athlete to win four Paralympic medals.

Meanwhile, Sadik Savas and Merve Nur Eroglu won silver in para archery, marking Türkiye's first team medal in the Paralympic classical bow category. In para powerlifting, Besra Duman took silver with a 113 kg lift in the women’s 55 kg competition.

With three days left in the games, Türkiye has already surpassed its previous record of 15 medals set at Tokyo 2020.

Four gold medals, down to three

Currently, Türkiye ranks 15th in the number of medals won and 25th in the overall medal standings.

Last week, Türkiye claimed three gold medals, with para athlete Serkan Yildirim, para archer Oznur Cure Girdi, and para taekwondo athlete Mahmut Bozteke each winning first place in their respective categories.

However, Yildirim's gold medal was later revoked by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which ruled that Yildirim was "not eligible to compete" under the World Para Athletics classification rules and qualification regulations for Paris 2024.

The Turkish National Paralympic Committee (TMPK) has since launched a legal challenge to reinstate Yildirim's 100-meter medal.

Türkiye’s para taekwondo athletes Fatih Celik, Ali Can Ozcan, and Gamze Gurdal also excelled, securing silver medals.

Para-athlete Muhammet Khalvandi added to the silver tally with his performance in the men’s javelin throw, while Aysel Ozgan earned a silver medal in women’s para shooting, and Aysel Onder came in second in the women's 400m final with a time of 55.23.