Canoe athletes in Artvin's Yusufeli district in northeastern Türkiye train on the dam lake located in the old district center, which has been mostly submerged by water from Yusufeli Dam and the hydroelectric power plant (HPP).
After the start of the impoundment at Yusufeli Dam and the hydroelectric power plant in November 2022, the artificial canoe track in the region was also flooded. With the old settlement largely submerged by the dam, the canoeists, under Yusufeli Municipality Sports Club, started training in the dam lake.
Athletes were seen rowing in still water between buildings, whose tops were still visible from the water's surface.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday, Yusufeli Municipality Sports Club canoe trainer Ilhan Demirtaş noted that the artificial canoe track built in 2012 was flooded and stated that members of their club continue rowing sessions on the water accumulated in the old district center.
"Currently, we continue our sessions in the water in the old district center. We continue rowing here," Demirtaş noted.
Stating that canoeing is a very popular sport in Artvin, especially in Yusufeli, Demirtaş noted that they train, regardless of difficulties, with the aim of sending athletes to the national team and then to the Olympics.
"We used to train in the creek passing through Yusufeli, and now we are rowing on Yusufeli. It seems like a different location now,'' Demirtaş explained, adding that they hope to have a new canoe track in the area as soon as possible.
One of the athletes, Duygu Beyaz, who has been canoeing for five years, said: "We are now in the old Yusufeli. As you can see, the dam's water has submerged the place. We now row in places where we used to run and play, where we would meet and visit friends. Here we both practice and 'relive' memories. The house I used to live in has been demolished. It's a very different feeling."
