New World Record By National Athlete Şahika Ercümen On The 100th Anniversary Of The Republic

Şahika Ercümen completed her challenging training for the record attempt organized with the slogan “Breathe for Hatay” to raise awareness in the earthquake region.

The athlete, who entered the water off the coast of Karamağara Bay in Yayladağı district, improved the 105-meter world record held by Serbian-born Lena Balta in the non-pallet variable weight category with her 106-meter performance.

“I am very proud to bring the world record to Turkey in the 100th anniversary of our Republic”
After breaking her record, Şahika made a statement to journalists.

Stating that she was very happy and had emotional moments, Şahika continued her words as follows:

“This region is very, very meaningful for us. We were in this region before the earthquake, we wanted to take part in awareness and promotional projects, but after the earthquake, our state, our institutions and all our people made superhuman efforts to heal the wounds and the work is still continuing. I wanted to break the world record in Hatay, in Yayladağı, instead of breaking it elsewhere. We also started a project to create educational support for 100 girls. Today, we were rewarded for our efforts. This region was very meaningful for us. I am very proud and happy that we broke the world record in Turkey, Hatay and Yayladağı in the 100th anniversary of our Republic.”

Şahika thanked Hatay Governorate, Yayladağı District Governorate, Yayladağı Municipality and her sponsor Kalyon Enerji for supporting her.

Minister Bak congratulated Şahika Ercümen
According to the statement made by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Minister Osman Aşkın Bak published a congratulatory message for Şahika Ercümen, who increased her world record from 105 meters to 106 meters.

In his congratulatory message, Minister Bak made the following statements:

“I sincerely congratulate Şahika Ercümen, who improved her previous world record of 105 meters and became the new holder of the world record with 106 meters with her dive in the category of variable weight without palette in Hatay. I also congratulate Şahika Ercümen for her sensitivity, who successfully performed the record attempt dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic, organized with the slogan ‘Breathe for Hatay’ to raise awareness in the earthquake region. This success shows the power of Turkish women and the achievements they can achieve to the whole world. I would like to express my gratitude to those who contributed to our national athlete breaking the world record and wish Şahika Ercümen continued success.”

Congratulations from Governor Masatlı
Hatay Governor Mustafa Masatlı stated that it was a proud day for Hatay.

Emphasizing that it is important for Hatay to be mentioned again in organizations after the earthquakes, Masatlı said, “After the earthquakes of February 6 and February 20, our athlete Şahika Ercümen was here for 10 days to be a breath for Hatay. She made a world record attempt in her field to be a breath for Hatay. Whether this record was realized or not, it was very meaningful for us to have our athlete, who is our national pride and represents us at the highest level on international platforms, here with us.”

Masatlı congratulated Şahika Ercümen for breaking the world record.

Mayor Yalcin: Our goals realized
Yayladağı Mayor Mehmet Yalçın said that as the municipality, they have supported the record attempt since the first day.

Stating that their goals were realized as well as breaking the record, Yalçın said:

“We had goals for the diving record, the first one was to dedicate it to the 100th anniversary of the Republic, and Şahika Ercümen proudly presented it. Our second goal was the efforts to return to normalization in the earthquake zone, and we have achieved this. Our third goal was to introduce Karamağara Bay to the world. The eyes of the world were here today. Our goals were realized.”

Şahika Ercümen improved the 105-meter world record held by Lena Balta of Serbian origin with her 106-meter performance in the non-pallet variable weight category hosted by Yayladağı Municipality.