İlke Özyüksel

İlke Özyüksel (born 26 February 1997) is a Turkish female modern pentathlete.[1]

İlke Özyüksel
Personal information
NationalityTurkey
Born (1997-02-26) 26 February 1997
Height1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
Country Turkey
SportModern Pentathlon
Medal record
Representing  Turkey
Modern Pentathlon
European Championships
2017 Minsk Individual
2016 Sofia Individual
European Junior Championships
2018 El Prat de LlobregatIndividual
UIPM Youth "A" World Championships
2015 Buenos AiresIndividual
European Youth "B" Championships
2013 Minsk Individual

Private life

Özyüksel was born to a retired worker father and a school counselor mother, who had lost her sight at the age of 15 due to ocular hypertension. She became very sick two weeks after her birth on 26 February 1997. In the beginning, it was thought that she had cancer. However, a Turkish physician working in the United States, who was in Turkey for a three-day conference, diagnosed her with Infantile hemangioma, which can be fatal if not treated. She underwent a laser therapy, and could get her health again.[2]

Sports career

At the age of only nine, Özyüksel became champion at the World Championships for Cadets. In 2014, she decided to quit pentathlon upon suggestions of her coach. However, the Federation insisted in her career, and sent her for training to Hungary, where she stayed eleven months. After she broke a world record there, she became unwelcome by the Hungarian coach, and had to return home ahead of schedule. After her return, the Federation set up a 10-member team including a psychologist, a dietitian, a masseur and a physician, to prepare her for the Olympics. She trained eight hours a day for four and half months.[2]

She won the gold medal at the UIPM 2015 Youth "A" World Championships held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[3] At the same competition, she set two world records for youth, in overall with 1,065 points and in combined with a time of 11:55.00 and 585 points.[4] She earned a quota spot at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is the first ever Olympic modern pentathlon participant from Turkey.[5] At the 2017 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, she took the bronze medal.[6] In the Stage 4 of 2017 World Cup held in Drzonków, Poland, she won the bronze medal, and set a world record for juniors in combined with a time of 11:57.53 and 583 points.[4][7] Özyüksel captured the gold medal at the 2018 Modern Pentathlon Junior European Championships held in El Prat de Llobregat, Spain. She broke the world record with a total of 1,376 points competing in the five events of fencing, swimming, riding and shootin events.[8] She set world records in the running and the shooting events at the 2019 European Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Bath, United Kingdom.[9]

In 2019, she received the "Mustafa V. Koç Sports Award" worth of ₺ 250,000 (approx. USD 47,000). The prize was established jointly by the Koç Holding and the Turkish Olympic Committee in commemoration of the late Mustafa Vehbi Koç (1960–2016).[10]

A short movie focusing on her life and career named 'Ilke' is released in 2019.[11]

Recods
World Records[4]
EventRecordCompetitionLocationDate
Overall1,065 pointsUIPM Youth "A" World Championships Final Buenos Aires31 August 2015
Combined11:55.00
585 points
Combined11:57.53
583 points		2017 World Cup Stage 4 Final Drzonków28 May 2017
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gollark: Troubling. Activating GIMP.

References
  1. "Ilke Özyüksel". All Athletics. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  2. "Önce ölümü aştı, sonra tarih yazdı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 5 July 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. "Turkish athlete crowned modern pentathlon world champion, marking first". Hürriyet Daily News. 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  4. "World Records". UIPM World Penthatlon. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  5. "Modern pentatlonda bir 'İlke'". Fanatik (in Turkish). 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  6. "İlke Özyüksel'den bronz madalya!". Milliyet (in Turkish). 22 July 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  7. Ata, Ercan (27 May 2017). "İlke Özyüksel, dünya rekoru kırarak bronz madalya kazandı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  8. "Bakan Bak, İlke Özyüksel'i kutladı". Habertürk (in Turkish). 21 June 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  9. "İlke Özyüksel'den dünya rekoru". NTV Spor (in Turkish). 13 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  10. "İlke Özyüksel, "Mustafa V. Koç Spor Ödülü"nün sahibi oldu". Anadolu News Agency (in Turkish). 25 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  11. "Ilke".
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