Türkiye's quest for gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics fell short, leaving the nation below its lofty expectations.
Despite sending 101 athletes across 18 sports, including a notable contingent, the Turkish team failed to secure a single gold medal.
The absence of boxer Tuğrulhan Erdemir disqualified for a doping violation, dealt a significant blow to their ambitions.
Returning from Paris with three silver and five bronze medals, Türkiye experienced its first gold-free Olympics in 40 years.
The last time Türkiye ended an Olympics without gold was the 1984 Los Angeles Games, where they won 3 bronze medals.
Since then, Türkiye had achieved at least one gold in each of the following nine Olympic Games.
Türkiye wrapped up the Paris 2024 Olympics ranked 64th in the medal standings. The nation’s medals were distributed as follows:
A notable highlight of the Games was the performance of Turkish female athletes, who contributed significantly to the medal tally. Buse Naz Çakıroğlu, Hatice Akbaş, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu, Esra Yıldız Kahraman, and Nafia Kuş Aydın each secured individual medals, while Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç added a mixed team medal.
The men’s side saw limited success, with only Taha Akgül achieving an individual medal and the archery team securing another bronze.
Türkiye's traditional strength, wrestling, delivered a major letdown.
For the first time in 36 years, Türkiye failed to win a medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, with the last failure dating back to the Seoul 1988 Games.
In freestyle wrestling, Türkiye did manage to secure bronze medals through Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu and Taha Akgül.
Türkiye's largest delegation was in athletics, but the results were underwhelming. Out of 16 athletes, only two reached the finals, and several failed to complete their events. The standout performance came from Ersu Şaşma, who finished fifth in the high jump.
Two athletes who won gold at Tokyo 2020, archery's Mete Gazoz and boxing's Busenaz Sürmeneli, returned empty-handed from Paris. Neither managed to secure a medal in their individual events.
Seven Turkish athletes finished in fifth place in their respective events:
Additionally, weightlifter Muhammed Furkan Özbek narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth.
Several athletes showed promise for the future:
Swimming: Kuzey Tunçelli (1500m) – fifth place
Archery: Elif Berra Gökkır (individual) – Quarter-finals
Fencing: Nisanur Erbil – Last 16
Weightlifting: Muhammed Furkan Özbek – fourth place
Boxing: Hatice Akbaş – Silver medal
Türkiye’s most successful Olympics remain Rome 1960, where the nation won seven gold and two silver medals.
Among the Turkish-speaking countries, Uzbekistan led with 13 medals (eight gold, two silver, three bronze).
Hungary followed with 19 medals (6 gold, 7 silver, 6 bronze), while Azerbaijan secured seven medals (two gold, two silver, three bronze). Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and Kyrgyzstan also contributed notable performances.
Here’s a snapshot of Türkiye's Olympic medal history:
| Games | Participants | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Paris 2024 | 101 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Tokyo 2020 | 108 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
| Rio 2016 | 103 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| London 2012 | 114 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Beijing 2008 | 68 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Athens 2004 | 66 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| Sydney 2000 | 59 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Atlanta 1996 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Barcelona 1992 | 47 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Seoul 1988 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Los Angeles 1984 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
