National athlete Serkan Yıldırım's gold medal revoked
The Turkish National Paralympic Committee (TMPK) has announced that the gold medal won by national athlete Serkan Yıldırım at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games has been revoked following a decision by a higher court, acting on an appeal by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
AA
In a statement titled "Judicial brake on Serkan" issued by the TMPK, the following was noted:
"The Turkish National Paralympic Committee had obtained a ruling from a German court in a lawsuit filed against the IPC, which is subject to German law, allowing Serkan Yıldırım to compete in Paris 2024, and our athlete succeeded in becoming the champion in the 100 meters. However, the IPC took this decision to a higher court and obtained a ruling stating that Serkan Yıldırım was 'not eligible to compete.' For this reason, our champion athlete was removed from the 400-meter race lists. Furthermore, as part of the legal process, his 100-meter medal was revoked."
The statement, which emphasized that they stand by the athlete until the end, included the following remarks: "We will continue the legal battle our athlete has been waging since June, and we will stand by Serkan Yıldırım to ensure that successes won on the track are not lost in the courtroom. We are exercising our legal rights to reclaim the 100-meter medal and will seek our athlete's rights to the end."
The TMPK had previously challenged the World Para Athletics Federation's decision to review Yıldırım's classification status in a German court, thereby securing his right to compete in Paris 2024. The national athlete had won the gold medal in the men's 100-meter T12 class.