Gazi University Rector Prof. Uğur Ünal met with athletes and academics who graduated from the Faculty of Sport Sciences and achieved significant success at national and international levels as national athletes. The meeting was held at the Senate Hall of the Rectorate.

Bringing together national athletes and academics who have been trained at Gazi University over the years, the event provided an opportunity for Prof. Ünal to talk with the athletes, hear their success stories, and listen to their memories of their student years at Gazi University. In a warm and friendly atmosphere, the participants also exchanged views on academic studies and the contributions of Gazi University’s Faculty of Sport Sciences to Turkish sports.

Attending the meeting in their national team uniforms and with their medals, the athletes shared how the knowledge and experience they gained at Gazi University had contributed to their careers. Rector Prof. Uğur Ünal also emphasized the importance of passing on Gazi University’s long-standing sporting tradition to future generations.

The event was attended by national athletes Yasemin Adar Yiğit, World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist; Halil Mutlu, three-time Olympic champion; Mehmet Akif Pirim, Olympic champion; Ercan Yıldız, World Champion; Şeref Eroğlu, Olympic silver medalist and World Champion; Nazmi Avluca, World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist; Selçuk Çebi, World Champion; Hamide Bıçkın, World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist; Kadriye Selimoğlu, World Champion; Bayram Özdemir, European Champion; Serap Aktaş, the first Turkish woman to compete in the Olympic marathon, the first female athlete to win the Mediterranean Games title with a record-breaking performance, and the first Turkish woman to win the Eurasia Marathon; Eylül Akarçeşme Yatgın, VNL champion and European Women’s Volleyball Championship winner; Muhammed Furkan Özbek, 2025 World Weightlifting Champion and world record holder, and 2026 European Weightlifting Champion; Enes Özdemir, 2025 and 2026 Senior European Karate Champion, 2025 Senior World Karate Championship bronze medalist, and karate champion at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games; Nisanur Erbil, silver medalist in fencing at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games; İlayda Nur Çürük, U23 European Shooting Champion; Sude Nur Çakır, U23 European Arm Wrestling Champion and bronze medalist at the European Senior Arm Wrestling Championships; Beren Aşkar, 2026 EUSA European Universities Games women’s doubles badminton champion; Nurullah Saraç, silver medalist in badminton at the 2026 EUSA European Universities Games; Burak Özdemir, silver medalist in karate at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games; Zeynep Berre Ocakoğlu, badminton champion at the 2026 EUSA European Universities Games; Ebru Acer, ITTF Para Table Tennis European Champion and VIRTUS World Table Tennis Champion; and Ebrar Keskin, shot put champion at the VIRTUS European Indoor Athletics Championships.

The event concluded with Rector Prof. Uğur Ünal posing for a commemorative photograph with the athletes.