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. The profession of the ...

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. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser standard, ...

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 pr ...

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

Personal life

Güzel was born on 23 February 1995 in

Pendik Pendik is a district of Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side between Kartal and Tuzla, on the Marmara Sea. Home to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Population is 711,894. It also neighbours Sultanbeyli, Sancaktepe and Çekmeköy from nor ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, and grew up in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...

. She is a student of sports administration at

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is named after the Sea of Marmara and was founded as a university in 1982. However, it was created in 1883 under the name of ''H ...

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

Sports career

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

Turkish Riviera The Turkish Riviera ( tr, Türk Rivierası), 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 c ...

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

, Italy, in her second or third regatta.

Galatasaray Sailing

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

-based club

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

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) 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 inh ...

, 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 e ...

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

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

, Romania, in September 2014 and in December placed seventh at the

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne Sail Melbourne is an annual sailing Regatta run by Yachting Victoria at various yacht clubs around Port Phillip Bay. Sail Melbourne is a Grade 1 ISAF (International Sailing Federation) event. Asia Pacific Regatta The annual Asia Pacific Regatt ...

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 The 2017 Laser Radial World Championships were held in Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former m ...

, she placed 37th. Güzel ranked eighth at the

2018 Mediterranean Games The 2018 Mediterranean Games ( es, Juegos Mediterráneos de 2018), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games ( es, XVIII Juegos Mediterráneos) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 Jun ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

, Spain. Despite being unsuccessful at the 2018 Sailing World Championships, Güzel finished in 10th place at the 2019 Women's Laser Radial World Championship held in Sakaiminato, Japan, qualifying her to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She took the bronze medal in the Laser Radial class at the Coaches-Pre-WM-Regatta competition held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, 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.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guzel, Ecem Living people 1995 births People from Pendik Sportspeople from Istanbul Turkish sportswomen Turkish female sailors (sport) Laser Radial class sailors Galatasaray Sailing sailors Marmara University alumni Olympic sailors of 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