Men
TUR
Furkan AKAR
TUR- Date of birth06 Mar 2002
- ProfessionAthlete
- Home townErzurum
- Place of birthErzurum
- Start skating / Club He took up short track at age 11 in Erzurum, Turkiye. / EGSK: Erzurum, TUR
- HobbiesSpending time with family and friends, watching movies. (Athlete, 12 Dec 2023)
- languagesEnglish, Turkish
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
He and cross-country skier Aysenur Duman were flag bearers for Turkiye at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (olympics.com, 04 Feb 2022; stillmed.olympics.com, 04 Feb 2022)
"An athlete must work hard. Sometimes he leaves his family in the background but in order to achieve success, some things must be put on the back burner." (trtspor.com.tr, 16 Feb 2022)
Canadian short track skater Charles Hamelin. (Athlete, 12 Dec 2023)
He became the first short track skater to represent Turkiye at the Olympic Winter Games when he competed at the 2022 Games in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 16 Feb 2022; olympics.com, 04 Feb 2022)
He became the first short track skater representing Turkiye to win a medal at the European championships by claiming bronze in the 1000m at the 2023 edition of the tournament in Gdansk, Poland. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Oct 2023; trthaber.com, 29 Jan 2023)
He became the first short track skater representing Turkiye to win a medal at the European championships by claiming bronze in the 1000m at the 2023 edition of the tournament in Gdansk, Poland. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Oct 2023; trthaber.com, 29 Jan 2023)
His brother Burak Akar. (Athlete, 12 Dec 2023)
To win a medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, and to become a short track coach. (cnnturk.com, 09 Feb 2022; sporx.com, 24 Mar 2021)
Placing sixth in the 1000m at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Athlete, 12 Dec 2023)
EARLY DAYS
He began skating by wrapping bags around his feet to glide across patches of ice in his hometown of Erzurum, Turkiye. As he did not own a set of skates, he was unable to begin short track training until he was gifted a pair by a coach. "The fact that short track is not a well-known sport in Turkiye has created problems for us from time to time, but now more people know about it. The support we receive from the government is important, now we have quality ice rinks that most European countries don't have." (sabah.com.tr, 17 Feb 2019)
He began skating by wrapping bags around his feet to glide across patches of ice in his hometown of Erzurum, Turkiye. As he did not own a set of skates, he was unable to begin short track training until he was gifted a pair by a coach. "The fact that short track is not a well-known sport in Turkiye has created problems for us from time to time, but now more people know about it. The support we receive from the government is important, now we have quality ice rinks that most European countries don't have." (sabah.com.tr, 17 Feb 2019)
He prays before competitions. (Athlete, 12 Dec 2023)
His brother Burak encouraged him to begin skating. "I started this sport thanks to my brother. He was my trainer and he was also an athlete."
Artur Sultangaliyev [national], KAZ; Burak Akar [personal, brother], TUR
