No gold medals after 40 years: Turkiye concludes Paris 2024 Olympics with 8 medals

As the Paris 2024 Olympics conclude today with the closing ceremony, Turkiye finishes the games with 3 silver and 5 bronze medals. This marks the first time since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics that Turkiye has not secured a gold medal.

Turkiye won 2 silver and 1 bronze medal in women's boxing. Hatice Akbaş and Buse Naz Çakıroğlu lost in their final matches, earning silver medals, while Esra Yıldız Kahraman secured a bronze medal by winning her third-place match.

In the shooting discipline, the mixed 10-meter air pistol team, consisting of Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç, won a silver medal after losing to Serbia in the semifinals.

Mete Gazoz, the reigning Olympic champion, ended his Paris Olympics campaign with a bronze medal. The men's archery team, composed of Mete Gazoz, Ulaş Berkim Tümer, and Abdullah Yıldırmış, also claimed a bronze medal.

In wrestling, historically Turkiye's most successful Olympic sport, the country won two bronze medals this year. Buse Naz Çavuşoğlu in women's 68kg and Taha Akgül in men's 125kg both brought home bronze. In taekwondo, Nafia Kuş Aydın secured a bronze medal in the women's 67kg category.

The "Sultans of the Net," Turkiye's women's volleyball team, made it to the semifinals for the first time in their history but finished fourth after losing to Italy in the semifinals and Brazil in the bronze medal match. In swimming, 16-year-old Kuzey Tunçelli made history as the first Turkish athlete to reach an Olympic final, finishing fifth with a time of 14:41.22 and setting a "World Junior Record."

Turkiye's performance in Paris 2024 is its worst since the 1984 Olympics. In the previous Olympics (Tokyo 2020), Turkiye won 2 gold, 2 silver, and 9 bronze medals, finishing 20th in the medal standings. In Paris 2024, Turkiye ranked 64th.

Total Medal Count Reaches 112

Since its first appearance in the Olympics at London 1908, Turkiye had accumulated 41 gold, 27 silver, and 36 bronze medals until the Paris Olympics. With the 8 medals won in Paris, Turkiye's total Olympic medal count has reached 112.

First Shooting Medal

In the Paris Olympics, Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç won Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medal in shooting, in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event. Shooting became the 10th sport in which Turkiye has won a medal in the history of the Summer Olympics.

State of Wrestling

Turkiye's performance in wrestling, its most successful Olympic sport, was limited to just two bronze medals this year. Prior to Paris, Turkiye had won 29 gold, 18 silver, and 19 bronze medals in wrestling over 18 Olympic appearances. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Turkiye achieved its best wrestling performance, winning 7 gold and 2 silver medals.

Yusuf Dikeç Becomes Olympic Icon

Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç became an iconic figure of the Olympics after his unique shooting style—firing without equipment and with one hand in his pocket—captured the world's attention on social media. Athletes across the Games, including pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis, women's pole vault champion Nina Kennedy, and men's discus thrower Roje Stona, celebrated their victories by mimicking Dikeç's pose.

Opening Ceremony Controversy

The Paris Olympics, held for the third time in the city's history, featured an opening ceremony along the Seine River instead of a stadium, a first for the Games. As delegations were introduced aboard boats crossing the Seine, performances took place at historic locations such as the Louvre Museum and the Bastille Prison. The ceremony sparked controversy, particularly when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" as promoting "LGBT deviance." Erdoğan stated, "My 13-year-old granddaughter told me not to go. When I asked why, she said they would be having an LGBT show. So I didn’t go. I will contact the Pope about this at the first opportunity."

LGBT Controversy Surrounding Imane Khelif

Another controversy arose around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who had been disqualified from the 2023 World Cup by the International Boxing Association for "failing to meet eligibility criteria for women's competitions." International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams clarified, "The Algerian boxer was born female, registered as female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, and holds a female passport. This is not a transgender case." Imane Khelif won the gold medal in the women's 66kg category.

Seine River Pollution Issues

One of the most debated topics of the Paris Olympics was the decision to hold swimming events in the Seine River, where swimming had been banned for 100 years. Athletes complained about the water's pollution. The Belgian Olympic Committee withdrew Claire Michel from the triathlon due to an E.Coli infection, and Portuguese triathlete Vasco Vilaca developed gastrointestinal symptoms after the race. Turkish swimmer Kuzey Tunçelli also commented on the river's pollution, saying, "The water was very dirty. It smelled and tasted awful. I felt like I couldn't move due to the current. It was a bad race experience."