Aysel Özkan (born 26 February 2002) is a Turkish

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

competing in the 64 kg.

Personal life

Aysel Özkan was born on 26 February 2002. She is twin sister of Cansel. Both girls grew up in the Children's Home Coordination Center (, ÇEKOM) in

Niğde Niğde (; ; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and is located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Niğde Province and Niğde District.Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

. Due to family problems, the two sisters returned to Niğde one year later, and were placed in the ÇEKOM again. She is a student of

Sports coaching An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the ...

in the Sports Science Faculty at

Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University () (Formerly known as "Nigde University" until 2016) is a public higher educational institution located in Niğde, Central Anatolia in Turkey. It has six faculties, two institutes, two colleges and six vocation ...

Sport career

Özkan started weightlifting in 2014 with the advice of a trainer in this sport branch. She took part in the U17 59 kg division of the 2019 European Youth Weightlifting Championships held in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

, Israel, and won the gold medal in the snatch, the bronze medal in the clean & jerk event taking the silver medal in total. At the 2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Uzbekistan, she placed fourth in the 71 kg Özkan took the silver medal in the snatch, the bronze medal in the clean & jerk event, reaching to the silver medal in total of the Juniors 64 kg division at the 2021 European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships in

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

, Finland. At the

2021 World Weightlifting Championships The 2021 World Weightlifting Championships was a weightlifting competition held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Due to concerns about the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron variant and held shortly after 2020 Summe ...

in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, she placed sixth in the 64 kg division. She won the bronze medal in the 71 kg snatch event and ranked four in total at the 2022 European Weightlifting Championships in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

, Albania. She took the bronze medal in the 71 kg snatch event and placed fourth at the 2022 Junior World Weightlifting Championships in

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

, Greece. She received the silver medal in the snatch, the gold medal in the clean & jerk event and the silver medal in total of the 71 kg division at the

2021 Islamic Solidarity Games ‌The 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games () were the 5th edition of the event held from 9 to 18 August 2022 at Konya, Turkey under the aegis of Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF). It was the first time in history that the event was organise ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

, Turkey. She broke the Games record of the clean & jerk event with 121 kg. In 2022 at the

European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships European Junior and U23 Weightlifting Championships ( European U23 and U20 Weightlifting Championships) is an annual event organised by the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) for Under 23 and under 20 Weightlifters in Europe. European Cha ...

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, Albania, she became bronze medalist in total taking the bronze medal in the snatch and the silver in the clean & jerk event of the 71 kg division. At the

2023 European Weightlifting Championships The 2023 European Weightlifting Championships was held in Yerevan, Armenia, from 15 to 23 April 2023. Medal table Ranking by Big (Total result) medals Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk) Schedule ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, Armenia, she won the silver medal in the 64 kg snatch event and ranked four in total. She reached to the bronze medal at the 2024 European Championships in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria. She exercises at cs Prthe Olympic Preparation Center (TOHM) in Konya. Aysel Özkan won the gold medal in the women's 64 kg weightlifting category at the

2025 European Weightlifting Championships The 2025 European Weightlifting Championships was held in Chișinău, Moldova, from 13 to 21 April 2025. Host Selection Controversy The European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) picked Moldova to host the 2025 European Senior Weightlifting Cham ...

in Chisinau, Moldova, with 100 kg in the snatch, fourth with 122 kg in the clean & jerk and silver with 222 kg in total.

Achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozkan, Aysel 2002 births Living people Turkish twins Sportspeople from Niğde Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University alumni Turkish female weightlifters Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in weightlifting 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Islamic Solidarity Games gold medalists for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Turkey Medalists at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games