Ecem Güzel (born 23 February 1995) is a Turkish

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

who specializes in the

Laser Radial The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance and World sailing approved manufactures. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Rad ...

class. She is a member of the

Galatasaray Sailing Galatasaray Sailing Team is the men's and women's sailing section of Galatasaray S.K., a major sports club in Istanbul, Turkey. There are optimist, finn, Laser Radial, Laser Standard, Mistral, Laser M and windsurf Windsurfing is a wind- ...

team. Güzel competed at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games for Turkey.

Sports career

Güzel became interested in sailing at age 10 during a summer vacation in Bodrum, on the

Turkish Riviera The Turkish Riviera (), also known popularly as the Turquoise Coast, is an area of southwest Turkey encompassing the provinces of Antalya and Muğla, and to a lesser extent Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin. The combination of a ...

. She attended a sailing course; her mother had to obtain a loan to cover Güzel's training expenses. She learned that the

Optimist Optimism is the attitude or mindset of expecting events to lead to particularly positive, favorable, desirable, and hopeful outcomes. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway poin ...

dinghy is a type designed for young people and started sailing in that class because of her young age. She gained experience at the Era Yachting Bodrum club.

Turgutreis Belediyespor

Güzel joined Turgutreis Belediyespor, a local club in Bodrum, and began to compete there in 2009. She chose the

as it is an Olympics sailing class. Güzel debuted internationally at the 2009 Laser Europa Cup held in

Scarlino Scarlino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about northwest of Grosseto. Scarlino borders the following municipalities: Castiglione della Pescaia, ...

, Italy, in her second or third

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

Galatasaray Sailing

Taking notice of Güzel's passion at international competitions, the

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

-based club

transferred her from Bodrum in 2013. In 2013, Güzel was silver medalist at the 46th Balkan Sailing Championship held in

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

, North Macedonia. She placed second at the Athens Eurolymp Week in March 2014. In July, Güzel ranked ninth at the Laser Standard & Radial – European Youth Championship in Nago–Torbole, Italy and in August ranked sixth at the Laser Radial & Standard – U21 World Championship in

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

, France. Güzel won a gold medal in the Laser Radial class at the 47th Balkan Sailing Championship in

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

, Romania, in September 2014 and in December placed seventh at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne in Australia. In September 2016, Güzel won a gold medal at the 49th Balkan and Open Sailing Championship in Greece. At the 2017 Laser Radial World Championships, she placed 37th. Güzel ranked eighth at the

2018 Mediterranean Games The 2018 Mediterranean Games (, ), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games (, ) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 June to 1 July 2018 in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Tarragona was ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, Spain. Despite being unsuccessful at the

2018 Sailing World Championships The 2018 Hempel Sailing World Championships were held in Aarhus, Denmark, from 30 July to 12 August 2018. It was the fifth edition of the Sailing World Championships. It was the world championships for all disciplines used at the next Olympics ...

, Güzel finished in 10th place at the 2019 Women's Laser Radial World Championship held in

Sakaiminato is a city in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,012 in 13178 households and a population density of 1110 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Sakaiminato is located in far western Totto ...

, Japan, qualifying her to compete at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. She took the bronze medal in the Laser Radial class at the Coaches-Pre-WM-Regatta competition held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. At the 2020 Women's Laser Radial World Championship in Melbourne, Güzel placed 29th. The Turk-Nippon Insurance Company announced that it will sponsor Güzel for the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2024 Women's ILCA 6 World Championship in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

, Argentina, she competed in the Golden Group, and ranked 39th collecting 289 points. That result was sufficient to secure the firstspot for Turkey in the sailing sport at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Personal life

Güzel was born on 23 February 1995 in

Pendik Pendik () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 190 km2, and its population is 750,435 (2022). It is on the Asian side between Kartal and Tuzla, on the Marmara Sea. It also neighbours Sultanbeyli, San ...

, and grew up in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

. She is a student of sports administration at

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

. Her mother, Alev Özdinçer, is a financial adviser and sailing referee.

References

External links

* *
Ecem Guzel
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guzel, Ecem 1995 births Living people People from Pendik Sailors (sport) from Istanbul Turkish sportswomen Turkish female sailors (sport) Laser Radial class sailors Galatasaray Sailing sailors Marmara University alumni Olympic sailors for Turkey Sailors at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Laser Radial Competitors at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games medalists in sailing 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Sailors at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Laser Radial