Muhammed Furkan Özbek, who won the gold medal by breaking a record in the 65 kilo category at the World Weightlifting Championship held in Norway last year, said that he wanted to become the champion by breaking the record at the European Championship in Georgia.
Men’s National Weightlifting Team continues its preparations for the organization to be held in Batumi between 19-26 April, under the management of coach Gökhan Kuşçuoğlu, coaches Mehmet Doğan, Mehmet Başol and Cumali Tekin, in Ankara after the Antalya camp.
Star-star athlete Furkan, who made pre-training evaluations at the Turkish Olympic Preparation Center in Eryaman, stated that they were preparing for the European Championship with high motivation, physically and mentally.
Emphasizing that they want to raise the Turkish flag as a team in Georgia, the national athlete said, “We are ready, there is very little time left. Since Georgia is close, many of our fans will come to watch us. We had a pleasant preparation period. Preparing without getting injured was a big plus for me. Our motivation is very high. We want the championship in Georgia, both individually and as a team.” he said.
“I BECAME THE WORLD CHAMPION BY BREAKING A RECORD IN MY FIRST RACE AT 65 KG”
Reminding that he competed in the 73 kilo category in the European Championship last year, Furkan explained that the International Weightlifting Federation made a critical decision after the weight change and continued as follows:
“My weight remained between 65 and 79 kilos for the Olympics, and going up to the 79 kilo weight would have left me too clumsy. I took a risk, I decided to compete in the 65 kilo weight weight with a 3-month professional diet program. Then, in October last year, I broke the record in my first race at 65 kilos in Norway and became the world champion. I brought the world championship to my country in weightlifting after 15 years, so I am proud. I want to repeat the same success in Europe. My goal is the championship, but “I have my eye on the record and I want to become European champion by breaking the record.”
Stating that the disciplined diet and special training program he implemented to lose 65 kilos had a positive effect on his performance, Furkan said, “I still pay attention to my nutrition. Since I lost weight, I am faster in training. I like my new weight. I believe that I will get used to it completely as I do a few more competitions.” he said.
“I WAS REALLY CLOSE TO A MEDAL IN 2024”
The successful athlete stated that they made all the planning in line with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and said that the European Championship is important in terms of sending a strong message to their competitors before the Olympic quota process.
Noting that he wanted to say “I am here” to his competitors, Furkan stated that he aimed to stay at the top for many years.
Furkan, upon being reminded that he missed the medal by a very narrow margin at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said:
“It’s a shame to narrowly miss the Olympic medal because every athlete’s dream is an Olympic medal. I saw two Olympics and I was really close to a medal in 2024. I was very sad, but at the same time I showed the world what I could do. I feel much more professional now. I believe that I will definitely get a medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. In fact, my goal is the Olympic championship. We will do very well at the world championships to be held at the end of this year and say ‘we are in’.”
Furkan, who wishes the process to go well without any injuries until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, said, “All of our coaches are professionals, they all have a good sports background. Thanks to their experiences and experience, we will be much higher than where we are. In addition, our teacher Gökhan Kuşçuoğlu, who trained me, is both my individual coach and currently the head coach of our national team, having him here was a plus for me.” he said.
Furkan stated that he also took care of young athletes in the senior national team camp and added that sharing experience is of great importance for the team culture.
