Haluk Babacan

Haluk Babacan — Biography

Haluk Babacan (born 1966, Istanbul) is a Turkish sailor.

He sailed at the Marmara Sailing Club and Fenerbahçe. After racing in the Optimist and Cadet classes, he moved to the Finn class.

In 1984 and 1986 he became Istanbul and Turkish champion in the Finn junior class, while in 1985 he finished runner-up.

In 1988 he finished second for the first time in the seniors category, and in 1989 he won his first Turkish championship. He repeated this success in 1992, and finished second in 1990 and 1995.

His last title for Fenerbahçe came in 1997, when he won the Turkish Dragon championship together with Yılmaz Canözer and Ege Ermeç.

Capped more than 200 times for the national team, Babacan won a silver medal in the Finn junior class at the Balkan Championship held in Constanța, Romania, on 22-30 September 1985, a bronze medal in the Finn class at the championship held in Piraeus, Greece, on 15-21 September 1990, and another silver at the championship organized in Burgas, Bulgaria, on 1-6 September 1992. At the Balkan Championship held in Istanbul on 6-11 September 1993 he won a gold medal for Turkey in the Finn class. Babacan also wore the national jersey at the Olympic Games held in Seoul, finishing 24th in the Finn class. His third place at the 1993 Eurolymp Races was another of his achievements.