Merve Tuncel (born 1 January 2005) is a Turkish

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

specialized in the

freestyle swimming Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most commo ...

. She qualified for the 800m and 1500m freestyle events of the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. She is a member of

Enka SK Enkaspor ( tr, Enka Spor Kulübü) is a multi-sports club established in 1983 in Istanbul, Turkey by the Turkish construction conglomerate Enka Construction Co. Enkaspor's main activities are in athletics, water polo, tennis and swimming with 3 ...

Early years

Merve Tuncel was born to Sulhi and Adalet Tuncel in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey on 1 January 2005. She is a student at Nermin Mehmet Çekiç

Anatolian High School Anatolian High School, or Anadolu High School ( tr, Anadolu Lisesi), refers to public high schools in Turkey that admit their students according to high nationwide standardized test (LGS) scores, though this is not required for entering all Anatol ...

in Yenimahalle, Ankara. She liked to play with water in her very early youth years. She started swimming at Age 4 At age ten, she started to swim at the Turkey Olympic Preparation Center in Eryaman, Ankara under the Head Coach Gjon Shyti. From 2019 she swims for

, but her coach is still Gjon Shyti and she continues training in Ankara.

Swimming career

Tuncel won the silver medal in the 200m butterfly, and the bronze medal in the 800m freestyle at the

2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival The 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, between 21 and 27 July 2019. Sports The following competitions took place: Venues Schedule The competition schedule for the 2019 European Youth Olympic Summer Fest ...

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Azerbaijan. She broke the juniors world record at

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, ...

, Turkey on 22 December 2020 in the

short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...

1500m freestyle swimming event with 15:45.29. She won gold medals in the events 400 m, 800 m, 1500 m, and the bronze medal in the freestyle relay event of the

2021 European Junior Swimming Championships The 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships were held from 6 to 11 July 2021 in Rome, Italy at the Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto. The Championships were organized by LEN, the European Swimming League, and were held in a 50-meter pool. The Champions ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. She set new championships record and European Juniors record with her times 8:21.91 in 800 m freestyle, and 15:55.23 in 1500 m freestyle. Tuncel was the flag bearer for Turkey together with

Berke Saka Berke Saka (born 9 July 2003) is a Turkish male swimmer competing in the backstroke event. Career Saka is a member of Galatasaray Swimming. He broke the 13-years old national record of Derya Büyükuncu in the 200 m backstroke event with 1:58.0 ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, and was formally opened by Emperor Naruhito. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuncel, Merve 2005 births Living people Sportspeople from Ankara Turkish female freestyle swimmers Turkish female long-distance swimmers Enkaspor swimmers Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Islamic Solidarity Games competitors for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming 21st-century Turkish sportswomen