Emre Sakcı Finishes Second at World Swimming Championships

Record-breaking national swimmer Emre Sakcı, whose primary sponsor is Abdi İbrahim, competed at the World Swimming Championships held in Budapest, Hungary from 10-15 December. Sakcı proudly waved the Turkish flag while competing in the 50-metre freestyle, 50-metre breaststroke, 100-metre breaststroke and 100-metre individual medley categories.

Record-breaking national swimmer Emre Sakcı, whose primary sponsor is Abdi İbrahim—a company that has been operating for 112 years with a mission to improve lives—added another achievement to his list of successes. Sakcı won the silver medal at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, finishing second in the world with a time of 25.56 seconds in the 50-metre breaststroke.

I thank my primary sponsor Abdi İbrahim for believing in me and standing by me

Sharing his thoughts after the competition, Emre Sakcı said, "Competing at this level and representing my country in the best way possible is a great honour for me. I thank my primary sponsor Abdi İbrahim for believing in me and standing by me. Knowing that Abdi İbrahim is always by my side makes me stronger as I prepare for competitions. I will continue to work with all my strength to achieve even greater goals."

We will continue to stand by Emre

Dr. M. Oğuzcan Bülbül, Head of Human Resources, Corporate Relations and Sustainability at Abdi İbrahim, celebrated Sakcı's success with these words: "At Abdi İbrahim, we feel great pride in being the sponsor of Emre Sakcı. This success once again demonstrated how valuable the support we provide to our young people is. If proper conditions are provided, our young people have the strength to succeed in every field. We will continue to be a source of inspiration for Turkish youth, maintain the support we provide to swimming and continue to stand by Emre."

Who is Emre Sakcı?

Emre Sakcı, who began swimming at the age of 3 and was selected for the national A team at age 15, is an athlete of Fenerbahçe Sports Club representing Turkey in swimming. Emre Sakcı represented Turkish sports at the 2013 Utrecht European Youth Summer Festival, the 2015 Baku 1st European Games, the 2017 Baku Islamic Solidarity Games and the 2018 Tarragona Mediterranean Games, and in 2015 became the first Turkish athlete to break the world youth record in the men's 50-metre breaststroke selection at the Turkey Inter-Club Short Course Swimming Championships with a time of 26.67 seconds.

Our national swimmer, who finished fifth in the world in the 50-metre breaststroke at the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships held in China with a time of 25.89 seconds, won the silver medal in the 50-metre breaststroke at the 2019 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Scotland, bringing Turkish sport its first medal in this field. In 2020, at the International Swimming League held in Budapest, he won first place with a time of 25.50 seconds in the 50-metre breaststroke, breaking the European record. Later in the same competition, he improved his own European record with a time of 25.29 seconds in the 50-metre breaststroke, winning first place. This time became the second fastest in swimming history. He then won first place in the 100-metre breaststroke with a time of 55.74 seconds, breaking the European record and setting 3 European records at the international swimming league.

In 2021, he won the silver medal at the European Short Course Swimming Championships held in Kazan, Russia, and for the second consecutive time since his 2019 medal, he reached the podium in second place, making history. On 27 December 2021, at the Turkey Şehitkamil Arena Inter-Club Short Course Youth and Open Age Swimming Championships and Stars Individual Swimming Championships, he broke the world record with a time of 24.95 seconds in the 50-metre breaststroke final, marking a first in history.

In 2022, Sakcı broke the Turkey record in the heats of the 100-metre individual medley at the FINA World Swimming Championships held in Melbourne, Australia, and that same summer at the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya, he won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal. The record-breaking athlete also won silver medals in the 50-metre and 100-metre breaststroke at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Algeria. He won gold in the 50-metre breaststroke at the 2022 Acropolis Swim Open and gold medals in the 50-metre breaststroke and 50-metre freestyle at the July 2022 Turkey Championships. At the December 2022 Turkey Arena Inter-Club Short Course Youth and Open Age Swimming Championships and Stars Individual Swimming Competitions, he returned with 6 gold medals in the 50-metre and 100-metre breaststroke, 4x100 freestyle relay, 4x200 freestyle relay, 4x50 freestyle mixed relay and 4x50 individual medley mixed relay events.

At the Acropolis Swim Open 2023 Swimming Championships held in May 2023, he won gold by breaking the championship record with a time of 1:00.00 in the 100-metre breaststroke. At the Trophy 2023 Swimming Championships, he won first place in the 50-metre freestyle, 50-metre butterfly, 50-metre breaststroke and 100-metre breaststroke, bringing 4 more gold medals to our country.

At the 47th International Swimming Championships, he proudly represented our country as gold medallist in the 100-metre breaststroke, 100-metre freestyle, 50-metre breaststroke and 50-metre freestyle. At the 5-10 December European Short Course Swimming Championships, he won the bronze medal as third in Europe with a time of 25.90 seconds in the 50-metre breaststroke. In the 100-metre breaststroke, he finished fourth in Europe with a time of 56.84 seconds.