At the championship organized by the International Winter Swimming Association in Oulu, Finland, between 2-8 March and attended by more than 2 thousand athletes from 50 countries, Avcı won the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, breaking the world record for ages 30-39 with a time of 3.07.83.
Avcı became second in the world in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1.29.17.
Avcı, whose views were included in the statement made by the athlete’s communication office on the subject, stated that Türkiye has reached a very good point in ice swimming in a short time. Stating that they experienced a historical period in Finland, Avcı said:
“While only 1-2 individual athletes participated in ice swimming before, it is a great feeling to come with 11 athletes and receive medals for the first time. Here we have a 17-year-old swimmer and a 68-year-old athlete. We are achieving something incredible. Our athletes, who attended the ice swimming camp and received training just yesterday, are winning medals in the largest organization in the world today. I cannot find words to describe our happiness. Turkey will reach much better points in ice swimming, and many of our athletes will win medals in the international class.”
In addition to Bengisu Avcı, İrem Damar, Melisa Uluarslan, İrem Ergin, Şükriye Öz, Eda Savcıgil and Selin Cansu Demircioğlu compete in the championship, while Sabri Murat Ersöz, Güçlü Baytekin and Nevzat Arda compete in the men’s category.
