İrem Öztekin Wins 5 Medals at Down Syndrome European Championship

Irem Öztekin, a national swimmer and Abdi Ibrahim Foundation scholarship recipient, won silver medals in the 50 and 200 metre breaststroke, 100 metre butterfly, and 200 metre individual medley, as well as a bronze medal in the 50 metre butterfly at the SUDS 2023 European Swimming Championship in Italy, held specially for athletes with Down syndrome. Irem Öztekin expressed great joy at the medals she won at the European Championship, while Dr. M. Oğuzcan Bülbül, Director of Corporate Relations, Sustainability and Communications at Abdi Ibrahim, also made statements. Congratulating the young athlete, Bülbül said: "Through the Abdi Ibrahim Foundation Scholarship, we seek to support the young people who are the guarantee of our future. We support the development of scientists and athletes, investing in Turkey's future. Irem is one of our special students receiving a scholarship from the Abdi Ibrahim Foundation. While continuing her education, she brings us pride with her achievements in sports. She brought 4 silver and 1 bronze medal to our country at the European Swimming Championship held specially for athletes with Down syndrome. We congratulate her and sincerely believe she will achieve even greater success." She Set a Junior World Record in 2017 Irem Öztekin, 22, is a final-year student at Ege University's Faculty of Sport Sciences, Coaching Education Swimming Coaching Department. She became a national athlete for the first time in 2017, and that same year at the Down Syndrome European Open Swimming Championship in France, she set a junior world record in the 100 metre butterfly with a time of 2:03.32, returning with the gold medal. An athlete with Izmir Youth Centers Youth and Sports Club Association who has won over 140 medals to date, Irem Öztekin stated that her dream is to become a swimming coach: "I am very proud that I won 4 silver and 1 bronze medal at the SUDS 2023 European Championship in Italy and represented my country successfully. Being able to contribute to increased awareness in society regarding Down syndrome is also a source of separate joy and motivation for me. My dream is to become a swimming coach in the future. I am very grateful to the Abdi Ibrahim Foundation for the scholarship support they provided on this path." We Are Taking Steps to Prepare Our Youth for Tomorrow's World and Enable the Development of New Irems Dr. M. Oğuzcan Bülbül, Director of Corporate Relations, Sustainability and Communications at Abdi Ibrahim, said in a statement: "As Abdi Ibrahim, we are driven by a passion to improve 111 lives. With this vision, the Abdi Ibrahim Foundation Scholarship holds a special place among our social investment programmes designed within the framework of our HEAL 2030 sustainability strategy. We are taking steps to prepare our young people, the guarantee of our future, for tomorrow's world and to enable the development of new Irems. In line with this goal, following the establishment of our foundation, we have provided scholarship opportunities to a total of 62 students at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels to date, and we continue to support by opening our scholarship programme to new applications every year. The fact that 72 per cent of our scholarship recipients are female students is also particularly pleasing to us. As Turkey's improving force, we will continue to work for our country's future."