Özge Akın
Turkish sprinter (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Özge Akın (née Gürler, born June 17, 1985) is a Turkish sprinter competing in the 400 m events. She is the current Turkish record holder of the 400 m hurdles events. Following her marriage to her coach, her surname changed to Akın, although she was also subsequently known by the surname Akın-Gürler.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Turkish | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Özge Gürler June 17, 1985 Akhisar, Manisa Province, Turkey | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Turkey | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics sprint | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Events | 400 m, 400 m hurdles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Enkaspor, Istanbul | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Taner Akın | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
Competing initially in the long jump and running sprint and middle distance, she specialized in 400 m and 400 m hurdles following her coach's recommendation. Özge Gürler was a member of İzmir Gençlik sports club, Anadolu University, Ankara MTA and İzmir Metropolitan Municipality sports club[2] before she transferred to Enkaspor in Istanbul. She studied Physical Education and Sports at the Ege University in İzmir.[3]
Özge Gürler participated at the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain in the 4 × 100 m relay, 400 m hurdles and 4 × 400 m relay events. She ran bronze medal with her teammates Birsen Bekgöz, Pınar Saka and Binnaz Uslu in 4 × 400 m relay.[4]
She was admitted to the Turkey's national athletic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the 400 m hurdles[5] despite an injury at her foot. However, since her injury could not be cured out completely, she did not show at the competition's final run.[6]
Özge Akın qualified for participation in the 4 × 400 m relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[7][8] She won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay event with her teammates Birsen Engin, Esma Aydemir and Sema Apak as well as a bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles event at the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Palembang, Indonesia.[9]
