Uğur Orel Oral (born September 26, 1979) is a Turkish former swimmer, who specialized in individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and a seven-time NCAA Division II national champion while studying in the United States. He is also named Swimmer of the Year in Turkey in 2003 and 2004, and holds 15 Turkish records in the same stroke. Oral is a former varsity swimmer for the

Indianapolis Greyhounds The Indianapolis Greyhounds, also UIndy Greyhounds and formerly the Indiana Central Greyhounds, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Indianapolis, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. Th ...

at the University of Indianapolis under his head coach Gary Kinkead (2000–2004). Oral made his first Turkish team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

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 ...

. Swimming in heat two of the men's 200 m individual medley, he picked up a seventh seed and forty-eighth overall by 0.51 of a second behind Hong Kong's Alex Fong in 2:09.51. 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), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Oral qualified again for the 200 m individual medley, by eclipsing a FINA B-standard entry time of 2:07.09 from the USA National Championships in College Park, Maryland. He challenged six other swimmers on the second heat, including Olympic veteran

Oleg Pukhnatiy Oleg Pukhnatiy ( uz, Олег Пухнатй; born June 10, 1975) is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and individual medley events. He is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, and 2004), and a top 16 finalist at the 2002 Asian G ...

of Uzbekistan. He rounded out the field to last place by 0.12 of a second behind Chinese Taipei's

Wu Nien-pin Wu Nien-pin (; born 4 February 1983) is a Taiwanese former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and medley events. He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and a seventh-place finalist in the 100 m freestyle at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, ...

in 2:08.84. Oral failed to advance into the semifinals, as he matched a forty-fifth place tie with Puerto Rico's Jorge Oliver in the preliminaries. Two months after his second Olympics, Oral posted his lifetime best and a Turkish record of 55.31 to pull off an eighth-place finish in the 100 m individual medley at the 2004 FINA World Short Course Championships in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. In 2012, Oral was inducted into the University of Indianapolis Hall of Fame for his enormous success and full-time dedication in collegiate swimming. He is currently working as an assistant coach for the same swimming team.

References

External links

Coaching Profile – Indianapolis Greyhounds
1979 births Living people Turkish male medley swimmers Olympic swimmers of Turkey Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics College men's swimmers in the United States University of Indianapolis alumni {{Turkey-swimming-bio-stub