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Türkiye's national para swimmer Defne Kurt won the women's 50-meter freestyle S10 title at the 2026 European Para Swimming Championships in Kocaeli, taking gold in 27.45 seconds.
Kurt came out on top in the S10 classification final at the Olympic Swimming Pool in Gebze, a district of northwestern Kocaeli province, finishing ahead of her rivals to become European champion.
Despite taking first place, Kurt said after the race that she had been aiming for more, with the world record remaining her main target for future international competitions.
"A first-place finish came, which is fine, but my target was the world record. That is why I could not be completely happy. I will break the record at the next World Championships or Olympic Games," Kurt told Anadolu Agency (AA).
She also expressed hope that others who put in similar effort would go on to achieve comparable success.
Türkiye also picked up a silver medal through Umut Unlu, who finished second in the men's 50-meter breaststroke SB2 final.
With Kurt's gold and Unlu's silver, Türkiye ended the day with two medals at the European Championships.
The competition in Kocaeli is scheduled to conclude on Saturday.
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