Turkish athletes met with more than 500 children, half of whom were Syrian refugees, as part of the Olympic Day event organised by the Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) in Gaziantep, Erikçe Park on Saturday 27 April.
The primary aim of the TOC was to introduce and inspire new generations to live and play by the Olympic values. This is the third year in a row that the TOC has celebrated Olympic Day in Gaziantep.
A number of high-profile athletes took part, including European and World Champion wrestler Rıza Kayaalp, European and World Champion karate athletes Serap Özçelik Arapoğlu and Burak Uygur, javelin thrower Eda Tuğsuz, badminton athlete Aliye Demirbağ, and Syrian refugee Olympic swimmer Rami Anis.
Hundreds of children gathered to join the athletes in a day full of sports and fun. The athletes played basketball, archery, karate, badminton, sport climbing, darts, bocce, rope ladder and led many fun games for the children, teaching them basic techniques and telling them about their inspirational experiences on and off the field.
The children enjoyed their time with the athletes, particularly with Rami Anis, who proved to be a role model for many of the Syrian children, having been a refugee in Turkey himself a few years ago. Since then, Anis went on to become an Olympian as part of the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016 and is now looking to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
The children were awarded certificates for their participation, signed by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and TOC President and IOC Vice-President Prof. Dr. Uğur Erdener.
Turkey’s Olympic Day celebrations were a collaborative effort between the TOC, the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
After the event, wrestler Rıza Kayaalp said:
“
Today, we met hundreds of children. We had a great time with them and I was delighted to see the fun they were having with us and the joy on their faces.
“I would like to congratulate the TOC and all the partner organisations for creating such a wonderful event. I believe that the children who are with us on Olympic Day will be inspired to continue playing sport in the future.”
Seyit Bilal Porsun, Board Member of the TOC said:
“We are proud to host such a beautiful event with the support of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, DOSB and GIZ for the third time in a city so rich in history and culture.
“On Olympic Day, together with our national athletes and children, we played sports, we had fun and we showed the next generation the importance of Olympic values and a love of sports.”