Yılmaz, together with Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, attended the "10th Giants of Sports Meet Award Ceremony" organized by Ülke TV at the Presidential Complex National Library Conference Hall. Speaking here, Yılmaz said that a Türkiye where a young person can develop his talent and where women and disabled individuals take a stronger place in sports life means a Turkey that also grows its social and community power.
Emphasizing that while spreading sports investments all over the country under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they see children and young people's access to these opportunities as an important part of their development goals, Yılmaz said, "Of course, there is a special situation at this point. It would be wrong and incomplete if we did not underline it. Our President is also a President who comes from your community, from sports. This has a natural impact. We see firsthand how much he loves sports and how closely he follows them. This is a great chance for our sports." he said.
Stating that expecting big goals from national athletes means taking the responsibility of preparing the conditions to achieve those goals, Yılmaz said, "Today, there are a total of 5,555 youth and sports facilities in our country. In addition to 1088 gyms, 743 pools, 589 youth centers, 97 athlete camps and training centers, we have facilities serving in many branches from athletics to archery, water and winter sports." shared his knowledge.
Stating that they strengthen the work carried out in athlete training centers and Turkish Olympic preparation centers with trainers, camps, competitions, health, nutrition and scientific performance supports, Yılmaz said:
"This support must be continued at every stage so that a young person entering the facility can develop his talents and prepare for the national team level when necessary. Our national athletes have won a total of 4,440 medals, including 1310 gold, 1315 silver and 1815 bronze, in national and international organizations in 2026. Our 334 athletes competing in 29 sports branches at the Taranto Mediterranean Games have won our country with a total of 111 medals, 41 of which are gold. This is the second highest number of medals we have achieved in the history of the Mediterranean Games. While our National Women's Volleyball Team defended its European championship and came out on top in the Nations League, our Men's National Team reached the finals for the first time in the European Boxing Championship. Our Women's National Team became champions. Busenaz Sürmeneli was chosen as the best women's boxer of the tournament.
Our archers finished the European Championship at the top of the country rankings with 3 golds. Elif Gökkır and Mete Gazoz became champions in the classical bow mixed team. We won 8 medals, 3 of which were gold, in Taekwondo and ranked first in the country. In addition to the 11 medals won in wrestling, Rıza Kayaalp won his 13th European championship. Muhammed Furkan Özbek from our national team, who won 16 medals in weightlifting, broke the European record. "The 7 medals in shooting, the European rankings of İsmail Nezir in athletics and Ferhat Arıcan in gymnastics are the results of the struggle of our athletes in different fields."
Yılmaz explained that while they continued their success in well-established branches, they also broke new ground for Turkish sports and said:
"İlke Özyüksel Mihrioğlu won our first senior European championship in modern pentathlon, and Bengisu Erçetin and Nazlıcan İnci won our first European silver medal in women's doubles in badminton. While Hatice Gökçe Emir won the first World Cup medal for our country in rhythmic gymnastics, Neslihan Yiğit Arın came 3rd in Europe in badminton women's singles. Our judoka's place on the European rostrum, Zeynep Sönmez's international "We also see their successful performance in tennis tournaments among these developments. One of the striking examples showing the level our young people have reached is the success of 15-year-old Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş in the Chess Olympiad. Our national athlete, who won the silver medal without losing on the 1st board, also broke the record for the highest ELO score achieved at his age."
Referring to the results of the Paralympic athletes in the European and World championships, Yılmaz continued as follows:
"At the European Para Swimming Championship in Kocaeli, our National Team reached the best European ranking in our history with 16 medals. Defne Kurt won 5 gold medals in 5 races. In the same championship, Turgut Aslan Yaraman had 5 medals and Sevilay Öztürk had 2 medals. Esra Yüce and Umut Ünlü also took to the podium. By winning 14 medals in para taekwondo, we became European champions as a team in men and women. In para archery We achieved 10 medals and 7 medals in para judo. While our Para Weightlifting National Team came 2nd in Europe, our Women's Goalball National Team won a bronze medal in the World Championship. İlker Tuzcu's 3rd place in para badminton, Yiğit Doğukan Bozkurt and Merve Sezer's in para rowing, and Zeynep Bozdemir's 3rd place in para judo completed these successes.
"SPORTS SHOULD UNITE US, NOT SEPARATE US"
Cevdet Yılmaz stated that sports is one of the most sincere areas that grow the spirit of unity of the nation, and said that people who love different clubs, live in different cities, and come from different generations find their own joy in the success of the national jersey, and when the flag is raised and the National Anthem is sung, the whole of Türkiye stands up with the same pride.
Underlining that the strength of the national team is nourished by this wealth of the nation, Yılmaz said, "Our athletes, who grew up in different cities of Türkiye, trust each other under the same jersey, fight for each other's success and carry the responsibility of representing our country together. We need to keep our internal front strong in the field of sports, as in every other field. We need to glorify our unity, solidarity and brotherhood." he said.
Yılmaz stated that the Turkish nation shares the joy of the athlete, regardless of where he grew up, and welcomes the medal he won with the warmth of a success that came from his own home, his own city, and said, "At this point, I would like to underline the following: From time to time, we witness some attempts in these sports organizations that try to make provocations, to separate our nation from each other, to pit them against each other. It is very important that our sports community does not give credit to these provocations in any way and does not create space for them. Sports should not divide us, they should unite us. "It should strengthen our brotherhood, unity and solidarity." he said.
