Bahattin Hekimoğlu (born 12 January 1989) is a Turkish world and European champion para-archer competing in the men's

recurve bow In archery, a recurve bow is one of the main Bow shape, shapes a bow (weapon), bow can take, with limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A recurve bow stores more energy and delivers energy more efficiently than the equivalent strai ...

W1 (wheelchair) event.

Early years

Hekimoğlu was born in the

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey on 12 January 1989. After finishing high school in 2006, Hekimoğlu was about to enroll at

Sakarya University Sakarya University (), frequently referred to simply as SAU, is a public research university located in the city of Serdivan, a district of the Turkish province of Sakarya. Considered one of the largest universities in Turkey with more t ...

. During the summer vacation that year, he went with his friends to

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, () is the second largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Adalar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its populatio ...

, Istanbul to swim. Hekimoğlu hit the seabed after he jumped headfirst into the sea from the pier. He broke his neck, could not get out of the water, drowned, and his heart stopped. He was rescued by a physician, and was rushed to a hospital. He later learned that he was paralyzed following surgery for the

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

. He was not able to walk, and did not leave his home for the next two years. In 2008, his life changed when he received a

motorized wheelchair A motorized wheelchair, powerchair, electric wheelchair, or electric-powered wheelchair (EPW) is a wheelchair that is propelled by means of an electric motor (usually using differential steering) rather than human power, manual power. Motorized ...

from the "Türkiye Omurilik Felçlileri Derneği - TOFD" ("Turkey Spinal Cord Paralytics Association"). In 2013, Hekimoğlu joined the project "Disabled Designers - The Swallow Project" and received vocational training in graphic design. After twelve months of training, he was employed by the TOFD.

Sports career

In 2016, Hekimoğlu decided to get involved in sport. He exercised three months long with pulleys for

physical strength Physical strength is the measure of an individual's exertion of force on physical objects. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training. Overview An individual's physical strength is determined by two factors: the cross-section ...

. By December of that year, he joined the "Okçular Vakfı Spor Kulübü" ("Archers Foundation Sports Club") obtaining his license. He became champion in the Turkish Outdoor Para Archery Championship. Competing in the W1 class of the recurve division, Hekimoğlu won the gold medal at the 2018 European Para Archery Championships held in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, Czech Republic. He took the gold medal in the Individual W1 event at the 2019 World Para Archery Championship in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

, Netherlands. At the 2021 Fazza Para Archery World Ranking Tournament held in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, United Arab Emirates, he captured two gold medals, one in the Individual W1 and the other in the mixed team event together with his teammate Fatma Danabaş.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hekimoglu, Bahattin 1989 births Living people People from Şişli Sportspeople from Istanbul Turkish male archers Paralympic archers for Turkey Paralympic wheelchair archers Paralympic bronze medalists for Turkey Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the European Para Championships Paralympic medalists in archery Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in archery 21st-century Turkish sportsmen Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Turkey Archers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics