Sevilay Öztürk: from a Rio final to two Paralympic bronzes and Kocaeli golds

Sevilay Öztürk's career requires attention to stroke and competition as well as medal colour. Born on 28 November 2003, she won women's 50m backstroke S5 bronze at Tokyo 2020 and 50m butterfly S5 bronze at Paris 2024. At the September 2026 European Championships in Kocaeli, she won gold in both strokes. This dossier follows her childhood Rio final through those dated milestones while keeping the Paralympic Games and European competitions distinct.

Sport

Para swimming · S5

Paralympic bronzes

Tokyo backstroke · Paris butterfly

Paris 2024 butterfly final

43.70 · 6 September 2024

Webz Fusion · Cumhuriyet Atlas · Source-based reference dossier · 2026-10-03

Rio 2016: a final before the medals

The IPC results record shows Öztürk finishing eighth in the women's 50m butterfly S5 final on 10 September 2016. She was 12. The official video on this page belongs to that race. Preserving the actual result of an early appearance, rather than replacing it with footage of a later medal, makes development easier to see.

Reaching a final and winning a medal are different stages. Producing a qualifying swim and returning to race the distance again are part of the high-level competition schedule. Watch the starting arrangement, the ability to hold direction within the lane and the finish before concentrating only on the final order.

Tokyo: a new threshold for Türkiye in swimming

The Tokyo 2020 events were held in 2021. On 30 August, Öztürk finished third in the women's 50m backstroke S5 final, winning Türkiye's first Paralympic swimming medal. At the same Games she finished fifth in the butterfly final and eighth in the 200m freestyle final. These results cannot be added together to create the outcome of a single race.

Backstroke and butterfly are not two names for the same skill. Body orientation, starting arrangements and following the lane differ. Winning a medal in one stroke does not automatically establish superiority in another. This range of events is a reason to read Öztürk's career beyond one celebrated short race.

Paris: this time a butterfly podium

On 6 September 2024, Öztürk won Paris women's 50m butterfly S5 bronze in 43.70. The official results place China's Dong Lu and Shenggao He first and second. Öztürk's heat time was 44.70, which must not be confused with the 43.70 final. She also finished seventh in the 50m backstroke final at those Games.

Together, these results demonstrate why performance should be read with its event and day. A bronze does not erase seventh place in a different final; seventh place does not diminish a bronze already won. Keeping each verified result separate offers a fairer view of the swimmer and her opponents than using one label to explain an entire Games.

S5, SB and SM: a competition framework

In Para swimming, S is the prefix for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. SB is used for breaststroke, and SM for individual medley entries. Physical-impairment S classes run from 1 to 10. S5 is a sport-specific functional competition class, not a statement about an athlete's character, intelligence or complete health history.

The same number cannot be equated directly across sports. Table-tennis class 5 and swimming S5 belong to different assessment systems. Read the stroke and distance first, then the class and round. This avoids turning times from 50m backstroke and 200m individual medley into a misleading comparison of speed.

From Europe in 2024 to Kocaeli in 2026

At the 2024 European Championships in Madeira, Öztürk won 50m butterfly S5 in 44.54 and took backstroke silver. On 8 September 2026 at the Gebze Olympic Swimming Pool, she won backstroke gold in 44.05, with Esra Yüce taking silver. World Para Swimming's next-day report confirms another Öztürk gold and Yüce silver in butterfly.

These are two separate European Championships, not additional Paralympic medals. Two Turkish swimmers sharing the Kocaeli podium make an emerging competitive generation visible alongside one athlete's success. This page records milestones checked on 3 October 2026; it does not promise results in future events.

Training, images and useful comparisons

In her July 2024 Anadolu Agency interview, Öztürk describes preparing for Paris at the training centre in Trabzon with demanding twice-daily sessions. This is an account of a particular preparation period, not a daily training load for young readers to copy. Race footage helps observation but cannot replace individual coaching or a classification assessment.

In a long-course pool, 50 metres is one length, so this final contains no turn. The start, balanced progress through the water and arrival at the wall should be considered together. The photograph, meanwhile, shows a 2022 ceremony in Konya. Knowing its actual date prevents a misleading visual connection between the Rio video and the Paris result.

A timeline of life, work and history

1. 2003

   Birth

   The official Tokyo results book gives 28 November 2003.

2. 2016

   Rio final

   Finished eighth in the 50m butterfly S5 final at age 12.

3. 2021

   Tokyo bronze

   Won Türkiye's first Paralympic swimming medal in 50m backstroke S5 on 30 August.

4. April 2024

   European gold

   Won 50m butterfly S5 in Madeira.

5. September 2024

   Paris bronze

   Recorded 43.70 in the 50m butterfly S5 final on 6 September.

6. 8–9 September 2026

   Two Kocaeli golds

   Won separate backstroke and butterfly S5 European titles on successive days.

Watch and listen: a visual reading path

Use this selection alongside the analysis above. Supported YouTube publications can be watched on this page after you choose to load their player. The publisher’s rights and availability conditions apply; the player does not load or start automatically. Official publication links remain available as an alternative.

Questions and explanations