In Antalya, some students who were introduced to weightlifting after a school storage room was converted into a gym returned from the Turkish championship with medals despite limited resources.
The storage room beneath the Gülgün Nihat Ömür Middle School in Kepez was transformed into a weightlifting gym by Mustafa Otun, a volunteer weightlifting coach, in 2018.
Thanks to Otun, students who were introduced to this sport made great strides in a short time.
Hüsnücan Yılmaz, one of the students, achieved second place in the 81 kg. category at the Under-15 European Championships held in Poland in 2021.
Yılmaz also became the Turkish runner-up in the 96 kg. category at the Turkish Youth, Juniors, 23 Years and Seniors Weightlifting Championships held in Ankara this year.
At the same championship, Beytullah İkne became the Turkish champion in the youth category at 102 kg. Mehmet Savga became the Turkish champion in the 89 kg. category for under 23 years, and Mesut Zorlu secured third place in the category of over 102 kg. category.
Hüsnücan Yılmaz told Anadolu Agency (AA) that when he learned a weightlifting gym had opened in their school's storage room, he started weightlifting to lose weight.
Yılmaz expressed that he became seriously interested in this sport thanks to his coach, Mustafa Otun, who recognized his talent. "We don't have trouble because this gym is where we grew up. But conditions could have been better. Frankly, we didn't receive much support. Our coach, Mustafa, did everything in the gym. He initially covered all the expenses for the equipment himself. If support is given, we can achieve better results," he said.
Yılmaz noted that he aims to represent Türkiye at the Olympics by achieving rankings at European and world championships in the seniors category.
Mehmet Savga, the Turkish Under-23 champion, attributed his success to being one of the gym's early adopters and the team's ambition despite limited facilities.
He praised his coach's sacrifices and aims to build a senior team from their gym within five years.
His immediate goal is to win a medal at the European Championships Under 23 this year.
Beytullah İkne, the Turkish youth champion in weightlifting, initially took up the sport for fitness but fell in love with it, leading to his championship win.
He expressed satisfaction with their rankings and is now focused on preparing for the Junior World and European Championships.
Mesut Zorlu, who placed third in Türkiye, started weightlifting on his physical education teacher's advice.
Despite the gym's shortcomings, he emphasized their strong team spirit.
His goal now is to achieve podium finishes at European and world championships in the senior category.
