National speed skater Furkan Akar's journey of success continues

Furkan Akar, who started his new season training in Erzurum in July, camped here with the Polish National Team, and then abroad with the German and US national teams, first took to the ice in Canada in the new season.

Furkan, who finished the race in third place with a time of 41.334 seconds in the men's 500 meters final in the first leg of the ISU Short Track Speed ​​Skating World Tour in Vancouver, managed to see the podium for the first time in this organization with the bronze medal he won.

Following the bronze medals he won in the 1000 meters at the 2023 European Championship and the 500 meters in the 2026 World Championship, Furkan Akar added a new success to his career by receiving a bronze medal in the 500 meters in the World Tour, and brought Türkiye its first medal in the history of the organization.

The national speed skater, who continues to work at the Ice Skating Hall in Erzurum's Palandöken district to continue this success, aims to return with medals from the European and world championships as well as other World Tour organizations he will participate in.

"One of the first successes in our history"

Turkish Short Track National Team Head Coach Burak Akar told the AA reporter that they made a good start to the 2026-2027 season.

Stating that they held camps at home and abroad before the organization, Burak Akar said, "I think we worked in the right way because Furkan reached the finals in 2 competitions and received a bronze medal in the 500 meters final." he said.

Stating that other athletes also achieved their best results in individual distances, Burak Akar said, "Of course, these are very important achievements. It is one of the first successes in our history, but now we want to normalize them. We have already started the preparations for the Olympics in four years. Whether we win or lose, we want to learn lessons and continue on our way. Now there are the 3rd, 4th and 5th legs of the World Tour in Asia. It is important for Furkan to remain in the top 10 in the crystal group. Other "We want our athletes to see the final as well. The calendar is busy this season, we have the European Championship, World Tour and World Championship ahead of us. We want to gain more experience as we compete." he said.

Explaining that they want to maintain the success achieved, Burak Akar said, "In the World Tour, the winner of the 3 distances is finally given a cup. We are close with a very small point difference. If we can finish in the top 10 in the rankings, it would be a great success for us. Furkan is currently in the 6th place in all 3 distances, but he is in the 3rd place separately in the 500 and 1000 meters distances. We want to preserve this." made his assessment.

"It is an honor to have such success"

National speed skater Furkan Akar said that he competed in 2 races in Canada at distances of 1500, 1000 and 500 meters.

Furkan stated that he participated in two A finals and two B finals in a total of 6 races and said:

"One of them resulted in a medal. It is an honor to have such success in the first race of this season. There are more European and world championships and other World Tour organizations. Our goal is the 2030 Olympics, I believe that we will achieve better success by gaining experience and improving ourselves. I am currently ranked 6th in the world. I will try to make it to the top 3 or 5. I will always try to do the best I can. I had won medals in the European and world championships and my goal was to get a medal in the World Tour. "I made my promise. Thank God, I made it happen. Of course, we will not be satisfied with just one medal."

Furkan Akar explained that success motivates him and said, "As I reach the finals and receive medals, my motivation increases. I try to compensate for my mistakes by watching them. Currently, I have a bronze medal in the World Tour as well as the European and World Championships. I will do my best to change the color of these to silver and gold." he said.