Furkan Akar wins the bronze medal in the Men's 500m final in the ISU CNSG Short Track World Championships in Montreal, Canada, March 2026 © ISU

Furkan Akar may have only just become Türkiye’s first ever Short Track World Championship medal winner, but the 24-year-old already has his eyes firmly fixed on the future. 

“It means a lot. I am proud of myself to take this historic medal. It’s very important,” a smiling Akar said in Montreal, the day after he secured a brilliant bronze in the men’s 500m at the 2026 ISU CNSG World Championships. 

“But I hope this is just the start, we are working for this and we start now. They (young wannabe Turkish skaters) are coming, they are working hard and I just tell them to believe in themselves.” 

Akar is used to leading the way for his nation. In 2022 he became the first ever Turkish Short Track Speed Skating to compete at an Olympic Winter Games, finishing an impressive sixth in the 1000m. A year later he bagged Türkiye’s maiden European Championship medal, winning bronze in the 1000m. 

But his efforts in Montreal have elevated him and the sport he loves to a new level back home. Even if he doesn’t recall much about his famous final. 

“I don’t remember anything, after the race I was in shock,” Akar laughed. “I didn’t know I had a medal but I am happy. I don’t remember my pace, how the ice was, nothing.” 

To fill in Akar’s blanks; the race was a cracker. The untouchable Steven Dubois flew away from the gun, hitting the first corner in front and never letting up but behind him Akar and his fellow finalists put on a mighty show. Places were swapped throughout the high-octane sprint, before three-time Olympic champion Jens van ‘t Wout eventually pulled closest to Canadian Dubois. That left Akar, Thomas Nadalini and Stijn Desmet to fight for bronze, and while the Italian and Belgian were preoccupied with each other, the Turkish man stole through to seal his place in the history books. 

Action that the bespectacled skater hopes will inspire a generation. He has his elder brother, Burak Akar, a former skater and now his coach, to thank for inspiring him. The duo grew up in Erzurum, a town that became Türkiye’s winter sports hotspot thanks to the 2011 Winter Universiade. 

Not that it has been an easy journey for the Akar brothers. Furkan began his skating journey sliding across the ice with his feet wrapped in bags because he could not afford skates. 

But after showing considerable promise, including a top-20 finish at the 2020 ISU World Junior Short Track Championships, Akar has received the support he needs. 

Now he is ready to pay it back, and a whole lot more. 

“I am 24, I have a lot in front of me, maybe two more Olympics,” he said. “I am working to get an Olympic medal, I was sixth (in the men’s 1000m at Milano Cortina 2026) and I want to get a medal. I have a European Championship (medal) and now a World (Championship medal) so now it’s the Olympics.”