Beytullah Eroğlu (born 25 September 1995) is a Turkish

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Paral ...

. He competes in the disability category of S5 in

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

, butterfly and backstroke, specializing in sprint events. He competed in the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, at four

World Para Swimming Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

and two

IPC Swimming European Championships The World Para Swimming European Championships (World Para Swimming European Open Championships), known until 2018 as the IPC Swimming European Championships, are the European continental championships for swimming where athletes with a disabilit ...

. At the 2017 World Championships, he won his country's first ever gold medal in Paralympic swimming.

Personal history

Beytullah Eroğlu was born to Mustafa Eroğlu and his wife Hilal in

Kahramanmaraş Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...

, southern Turkey on 25 September 1995. He is the family's oldest of four children. He was born without arms and a leg shorter than the other. He had a secluded life in his childhood. He did not leave his home until the age of seven. The life of the introverted boy has changed when his father persisted in his schooling. He learned to use his foot for writing, and made friends with his classmates. As he became known in the local media, Osman Çullu, the chairman of the Kahramanmaraş Para Swimming Club and the national team coach, visited the family. He proposed Beytullah to learn swimming. However, the disabled child became very scared thinking how can he will be able to swim with not arms,. Later, he got persuaded, and began to exercise swimming with the help of a raft. It took six hard years to learn swimming. Performing sport made him a happy individual. "When asked where his arms are", he jokingly replies "they were too heavy, I left them at home". The tall physically disabled swimmer at is currently a student of physical education at

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

Swimming career

Eroğlu was inspired to try the competition swimming after watching the 2000 Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia in the television. He also saw swimming as an opportunity to become more sociable. He began swimming in his hometown in 2001. His uncle Şeref Eroğlu, silver medalist sport wrestler at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens, Greece, became a role model for him. He participated in competitive swimming first in 2007. He holds national records in seven events (59 m freestyle S5e, 50 m butterfly S5, 50 m backstroke S5, 100 m freestyle S5, 100 m breaststroke SB5, 200 freestyle S5 and 200 m individual medley SM5). Eroğlu internationally debuted at the

2010 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships was an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2008 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Eindhoven, Netherlands and lasted from 14 to 21 August. Venue ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022, He qualified for the Turkey national team for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

London, United Kingdom London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. he participated at the

2013 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships was an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and lasted from 12 to 18 August. Around ...

in Montreal, Canada. He won his first medal, a silver medal in the 50m Butterfly S5 event at the 2014 European Championships held in Eindhoven. Eroğlu won a bronze medal in the 50m Backstroke S5 at the

2015 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships was an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom and took place from 13 to 19 July. Around 580 athletes from around 70 countries competed at ...

in Glasgow, Scotland, and another bronze medal in the 50m Butterfly S5 event at the 2016 European Championships in Funchal, Portugal. He represented his country at the

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil without reaching to any medal. Eroğlu took his country's first ever gold medal in Paralympic swimming at the 2017 World Championships held in Mexico City, Mexico in the 50m Butterfly S5 event. He won also a bronze medal in the 50m Backstroke S5 event of the same tournament. Eroğlu's disability swimming classification is S5 due to his limb deficiency as a birth defect. He is coached by Mehmet Fatih Kurt in the sports club İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K., which gave him access to a swimming facility in Istanbul. His father Mustafa Eroğlu is his manager.

Achievements

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eroglu, Beytullah 1995 births Living people Turkish male butterfly swimmers Turkish male backstroke swimmers Turkish male freestyle swimmers Turkish male medley swimmers Sportsmen with disabilities S5-classified para swimmers Paralympic swimmers for Turkey Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Islamic Solidarity Games gold medalists for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games Istanbul University alumni İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor sportspeople People from Kahramanmaraş 21st-century Turkish sportspeople