Newsletters
National gymnast Ayse Begum Onbasi is setting her sights on a gold medal at the 19th Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships, which will take place in Pamplona, Spain, on Sept. 13-15.
The Turkish athlete, who made history by winning gold at the 2021 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships in Azerbaijan, said the upcoming event could shape the next stage of her career as she continues to build up for another major international test.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency during the Olympic Day event held in Hatay by the International Olympic Committee and the Turkish National Olympic Committee, Onbasi said she had been training without interruption to add new achievements to her career.
Onbasi said she had already earned many national and international titles and recalled that she recently won a silver medal at the Aerobic Gymnastics World Cup in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
She said her immediate schedule includes the Türkiye Championship before preparations turn fully toward the world championship in Spain. Around one and a half months before the event, she is expected to enter a training camp focused entirely on the competition.
Onbasi said she hoped to compete in both the individual and mixed pair categories in Pamplona, adding: "The goal is the gold medal and to have the Istiklal Marsi played."
The Istiklal Marsi is Türkiye's national anthem, and the phrase is commonly used by Turkish athletes to describe winning at an international event.
Onbasi said the world championship carries extra meaning because she is currently the oldest aerobic gymnast still competing in Türkiye.
She said the event would be an important turning point in shaping the next period of her career, adding that every competition had become more valuable as she felt she was approaching a later stage in her sporting life.
She described that feeling as both exciting and meaningful, saying it brought her happiness to continue experiencing major competitions at this level.
Onbasi also advised families to guide children toward sport from an early age, especially as a way to help keep them away from social media addiction.
She said today's children have more opportunities than those available when she was young but added that families have an important role in supporting them through the process.
According to Onbasi, success does not come immediately in every sport a child tries, but family support, persistence and determination can help young athletes carry on if they love what they do.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
3 min read
