Osman Aşkın Bak lashes out at federations following Olympic failure: Did not take responsibility, said 'They will be held accountable'

Turkey finished the major event in 64th place, winning 8 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. While the results caused disappointment, it was the first time in 40 years that no gold medal was brought home from the Olympics.

Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak made statements regarding the results obtained at the Olympics. Stating that the results provided an important message for them, Bak criticized the federations.

"SOME RESULTS GAVE IMPORTANT MESSAGES"

Thanking all the athletes who competed in Paris, Bak said, "We have always stood by them and will continue to do so. There were athletes here who won medals, came close to medals, and especially those who achieved firsts. While some results give us hope for the future, some results also gave important messages."

"FEDERATIONS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS"

Targeting the federations, Bak said, "The state provides the resources. As the Republic of Turkey, we have provided our sports federations with the highest level of resources. These resources we provide do not exist in many countries around the world. It is not just us saying this, but the entire international sports community. Despite this, the federations that could not use these resources correctly and efficiently will be held accountable for this."

"I DO NOT LOOK AT THE SITUATION THROUGH MEDALS"

Emphasizing that the performance they expected before the games was higher, Minister Bak spoke as follows:

"I do not look at this situation through medals. I thank all the athletes who participated here, the technical teams, for representing our country. I also thank all our clubs such as Fenerbahçe, IBB, ASKİ, and ENKA. The Olympics are the pinnacle of sports. Your opponent is preparing just as motivated as you are. There are some firsts here that I consider very important. At the forefront of these is winning a medal in shooting, where we had not won a medal before. It is important that we won a medal as a team in archery. Our young swimmer Kuzey Tunçelli swimming in a final for the first time gives us hope. The fact that there are young people among our athletes, especially those who won medals, gives us a little more hope. We would have liked to make our nation happier and prouder. Our athletes might feel the same way. We have 3 silver and 5 bronze medals. The 'Sultans of the Net' finished 4th in the Olympics. They left behind important opponents but could not get the result they wanted in the final stage. In weightlifting, Muhammet Furkan Özbek finished 4th. Nearly 10 of our athletes competed in medal matches. Ersu Şaşma, who made the final, excited us. Experiencing that final is an important experience. Previously, we could not qualify for the Olympics in gymnastics. As a team, we missed the final by a hair's breadth. We finished 9th with a small point difference. Adem Asil had a bit of bad luck, Ferhat has dedication. These names are important athletes for the development of these branches. We need to develop these even further. We met every request the federations had from us during the preparation processes. We provided support reaching 2-3 times their budgets. As a state, we offered every kind of opportunity to the federations and athletes. Of course, everyone needs to learn lessons here. This includes the federations. We also, of course, need to engage in self-criticism."

Underlining that they will start preparations for Los Angeles 2028 immediately after Paris 2024, Bak said:

"We will manage this process in the best way possible. According to the law, there will be federation elections within 3 months. We and the clubs will evaluate their report cards. I think we are moving forward with positive steps. Our athletes also need a more professional process. It was also necessary to manage the preparation processes more closely. One should not think of everything as medals. However, no gold medal came out, and the 8 medals we received in total are below our expectations. There was serious spectator pressure and interest here. The fact that the arenas were full may have affected some of the athletes. We will learn lessons from all of these. There is a duty for the press, for us, for the athletes, for everyone. But one needs to look at the event positively. As the administration, we will evaluate these. As the state, as the ministry, we will continue our support in every way. There are not many countries in the world that give awards to athletes. Everyone wants to win a medal, wants to be successful. But sometimes you may not be on your day. Maybe you encountered problems and could not overcome them. The best in the world come here."