As I share my story with you in all its simplicity, with your permission I would first like to thank my mother and coach, Aylin Su Çetin, and all the individuals and institutions who have never withheld their support from me throughout my life. I am grateful that you exist.
I was born on June 23, 2010, in Istanbul. My mother is a physical education teacher and a swimming coach. My biological father and my mother separated when I was 10 months old, and my mother and I moved from Istanbul to Sakarya. My mother was a teacher at a private school. At the same time, she worked as a swimming coach for different clubs at the Sakarya Olympic Swimming Pool. After school, she would pick me up from daycare and we would go to the pool; during the last lessons, I would fall asleep in my mother’s arms. She often tells how, when I was 2.5 years old, she taught me to stay afloat on the water within one week. During the lessons, she was always worried that I might fall into the pool, so her mind was constantly on me. Until I was four years old, she did not give me swimming training; when she talks about those times, she says that she saw how happy I was in the water, so she always allowed me to play freely to fully explore it. I vaguely remember those days, and I was truly very happy. While my mother was teaching her students, I would dive into and come out of the 3-meter-deep Sakarya Olympic Swimming Pool beside her. By the way, I should also thank my family for choosing the name Su for me.
My mother, who is also my coach, founded the Sakarya Yıldızlar Swimming Club in December 2013. I once asked her, “Why are you leaving your school and all the clubs you work with to take a risk and open your own club?” She explained her decision by saying, “You were very little, and in order to raise you better, I also had to work very hard. With that level of workload, I couldn’t afford to lose your most beautiful years by constantly leaving you at daycare. When I opened my own club, I arranged all the lesson groups according to you, and no one could complain anymore about my child being with me. I could do all my lessons together with you, and even in a working environment, we were never separated. We were truly sharing life together.” At the age of four, I started my swimming education by both participating in the club’s group lessons and taking one-on-one lessons. I remember that when I was around six years old, I had learned all four strokes and could swim 200 meters medley. At the age of seven, I participated in my first licensed developmental competition, and from my very first race in Sakarya, I consistently won first place in all four disciplines.
Until the age of 10, I competed in both local and national competitions. In freestyle, backstroke, and the 200 m individual medley, I generally never gave up first place. News about me appeared in local and national newspapers and on the internet, with headlines such as “Su left no medal unwon” and “The shining star of Sakarya Yıldızlar.”
My first Open Water race took place in 2018 in Bodrum, when I was just 8 years old. It was the AquaKids Swimming Event, organized within the scope of the International Arena AquaChallenge Swimming Championships, covering the 9–12 age group and allowing children to become familiar with the Open Water Swimming discipline. I was registered with special permission. I was very excited—so much so that I even cried from excitement. I encountered buoy turns in Open Water for the first time at the AquaKids Swimming Event. Medals were awarded to the top three; I finished 4th and was very upset. However, that first AquaKids Swimming Event I participated in at the age of 8 in Bodrum holds a special place for me. I think that day, while I was taking my strokes in the sea, my mother saw something very different. From that day on, she always told me, “You will write your greatest success stories in the sea, in Open Water,” and indeed, that has been true up to today…
This is how my Open Water story began.
As the years passed, I achieved countless Turkish Championships in 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, and 5 km Open Water races. From the age of 11 onward, I participated in the Open Water Development camps organized by the Swimming Federation.
At the ages of 11–12, within the scope of National Development Projects, I competed in Regional and Turkish Championships as an athlete of Sakarya Yıldızlar Club. I won numerous Turkish Championships at different distances in freestyle and backstroke.
In May 2023, when I was 13 years old, I was selected for the Turkish Swimming Federation combined team for the championship in Burgas, Bulgaria. I wore my first national team jersey and felt very excited and proud. In the 13–14 age group, I placed 1st in the 800 m freestyle and 3rd in the 100 m backstroke.
In the 2024–2025 season, I transferred from Sakarya Yıldızlar Swimming Club to Fenerbahçe.
In April 2025, in Slovenia, wearing the Multinational Youth National Team jersey, I placed 3rd in the 800 m freestyle and 3rd with the 4×200 m freestyle relay team.
For Open Water training, my mother would take me to Lake Sapanca together with a few of her athletes, and we would train in the lake. In August 2024, when I was 14 years old, despite being the youngest competitor in the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race (6500 m), I placed 3rd in the women’s overall classification among more than a thousand athletes.
In 2024, at the age of 14, with the times I achieved at the Open Water National Team trials in Marmaris, I was selected for the European Junior and World Junior National Team squads as the Turkish Champion in the 5 km for the 14–15 age group.
In June 2024, at the European Junior Championships in Vienna, Austria, while swimming in 3rd place in the 5 km race, I took several blows and was unable to breathe. In order to breathe, I tried to do so by breaking my swimming position; however, according to the rules, because I broke my position, I was first shown a yellow warning card and then immediately a red card and a disqualification card. I hadn’t realized it. They started blowing whistles at me, but we had already entered the final lap, and I didn’t understand why they were constantly whistling at me. It turned out that I had already been disqualified and, according to the rules, I should have exited the water—but I was not aware of anything at that moment. I pulled myself together and finished the race in 6th place. I took off my goggles; my eye was in a lot of pain, swollen, and bruised. At that moment, I didn’t think much about my pain and said to my mother, as my coach, “I took a lot of hits, but I didn’t give up. I scored good points for our Turkish National Team.” My mother explained the situation and told me that I had been disqualified. I was very upset; I cried a lot. My heart hurt. What I took away from what I experienced at that moment was this: these are some of the most important moments of a swimming career—never forget these blows, kicks, and the disqualification you experienced; learn from your mistakes, and come back to the European Junior Championships next year as a much stronger and more experienced Su and show your strength!!!
Three months later, in September 2024, at the World Junior Open Water Championships held on the island of Sardinia, Italy, I achieved 4th place in the world in the 5 km race in the 14–15 age category. I was getting closer to my goals. This made me very happy and increased my motivation. I would succeed. I trusted myself.
In April 2025, at the Open Water National Team trials in Antalya, I became the Overall Turkish Champion in the 5 km and 10 km races and earned a place on the European Senior and European Junior National Team rosters.
In August 2025, at the age of 15, I competed once again in the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race and this time achieved 1st place in the Women’s Overall Classification.
In June 2025, the European Junior Open Water Championships in Setúbal, Portugal, had arrived. I had not forgotten the disqualification I experienced the previous year in Vienna or the unsportsmanlike behavior of my competitors. I worked for an entire year, waiting for this moment. In the 14–15 age group 5 km race, I started in the first group as the leader and finished the race in first place. This time, the announcer everywhere was saying, “European Junior Champion Su İnal from Türkiye.” With my time of 56:55:23, I had also achieved the best European Junior time to date. It felt like a dream. My mother was wrapped in the Turkish flag and crying; I ran to her and hugged her and my father, saying, “We did it.” Then we hugged our coaches and teammates from the Turkish team. At the award ceremony, the Turkish flag was raised on the flagpole and our National Anthem was played. It was a moment of the greatest pride I will never forget for the rest of my life. I had succeeded…
In 2025, at the European Senior 5 km race in Croatia, I placed 14th in the overall classification and earned the right to compete in the World Championships.
In July 2025, at the World Championships in Singapore, we started the 5 km race in the Open Age category with 78 athletes. Despite being the youngest athlete, I finished the race in 27th place. In the 10 km race, I finished 42nd among 70 athletes. These rankings were actually quite good, because my competitors were much older, highly experienced athletes with European, World, and Olympic-level results.
I want to record in my mind the experiences I gained at this World Championship and prepare accordingly for the 2027 World Championship. Because my goal is to finish within the top 24 at the 2027 World Championship and earn an Olympic quota for the 2028 LOS ANGELES SUMMER OLYMPICS.
After that, I will work for the Olympics with such great dedication that, although I do not know its color yet, I want to make history in the Open Water Swimming discipline by winning an Olympic medal for my country.
I completed the 2024–2025 season ranked 7th in Europe in the Open Age category and 1st in Europe among Juniors in my own age category (athletes born between 2006–2011) in EUROPEAN AQUATICS.
In the World Open Age Elite Athletes category published by WORLD AQUATICS in October 2025, I finished 52nd among 200 athletes. To date, I am one of only two athletes in the world who have achieved this.
In the 2025–2026 season, I transferred from Fenerbahçe Sports Club to Galatasaray Sports Club. From now on, I will take my strokes for my country and for Galatasaray.
MY GOALS FOR THE 2025–2026 SEASON: Winning the European and World Junior Championships and finishing within the top three at the European Senior Championships.
Thank you for taking the time to read my words to the end.
With love and respect.
Su İnal, December 2025
