Sevilay Öztürk

Sevilay Öztürk — Biography

Sevilay Öztürk won Turkey's first Paralympic swimming medal, a bronze in the 50 m backstroke S5 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which opened the country's medal record in the sport. A member of the national team in the S5 class, she swims freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, with sprint distances her specialty, and in 2026 she added another gold medal at an international meet. She is known by the nickname "Balık Kız" (Fish Girl).

She took up the sport at six, with her father's support and after meeting national Paralympic swimmer Beytullah Eroğlu, and trains under coach Ali Uzun at a Kahramanmaraş municipality club. She collected three golds and two silvers at the 2014-2015 national championships, then made her international debut in Berlin in June 2016, winning the 50 m butterfly and taking second in the 100 m backstroke. That year she swam at the Rio Paralympics as, at 12, the youngest competitor. She won the 50 m backstroke at the 2017 European Para Youth Games and bronze in the 50 m butterfly at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London.

At the 2021 European Championships in Madeira she took two silvers (50 m backstroke and butterfly) and two bronzes (50 m and 100 m freestyle). At the 2022 World Championships, also in Madeira, she won silver in both the 50 m backstroke and the 50 m butterfly. At the Paris 2024 Paralympics she was one of two Turkish flag bearers at the opening ceremony, alongside Mahmut Bozteke, and left with a bronze medal. At the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships she won silver, while teammate Sümeyye Boyacı took bronze.