Sümeyye Boyacı (born 5 February 2003) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

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 Para ...

. She 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 ...

, backstroke and butterfly, specializing in sprint events.

Personal history

Sümeyye Boyacı was born as her parents' first child in Eskişehir, Turkey on 5 February 2003. She has no arms (bilateral

congenital A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...

upper extremity agenesis) and a hip dislocation as a birth defect. She was schooled in a special primary school in her hometown, where she learned writing with her foot in the first grade.

Painting career

At the age of four and half, she began painting with her foot. She made a painting for ''Altın Balık'' ("The Golden Fish"), the

translation of the Russian book of tale (russian: Cказка о рыбаке и рыбке) by Alexander Pushkin. Her painting was presented to the Turkish President Abdullah Gül for his official visit to Russia. In April 2009, her watercolor paintings were on display in a personal exhibition in Moscow, Russia. Boyacı gifted one of her paintings to the First Lady of Russia

Svetlana Medvedeva Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva (russian: Светлана Владимировна Медведева, ; née Linnik, ; born 15 March 1965) is a Russian economist who was the First Lady of Russia from 2008 to 2012. She is married to the forme ...

in 2010. In 2014, she participated at an exhibition in Eskişehir for traditional Turkish handicrafts with her paper marblings.

Swimming career

Boyacı decided to begin with swimming as she carefully watched the fish in her

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

, and discovered that they swim without arms. Boyacı began with swimming in 2008. She has been coached by Mehmet Bayrak since 2012. In June 2016, she competed at the 30th International German Championships in Berlin. She internationally debuted in the senior class in 2016. She was qualified for the

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 ...

, and represented her country in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She failed to capture any medal. She took part at the

2017 European Para Youth Games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...

held in Liguria, Italy, and won the bronze medal in the 50 m Backstroke S1-5 event. In 2019, she captured the gold medal in the 50 m Backstroke S5 event at the World Para Swimming World Series held in

Indianapolis 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 Marion ...

, USA with a time of 45.28. At the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships is the 2019 edition of the World Para Swimming Championships run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The championships were held from February to June in seven countries across five continent ...

in London, U.K., she won the silver medal in the 50 m backstroke S5 event with a time of 44.74. The tall para swimmer at is a member of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club. Boyacı's disability swimming classification is S5 due to her limb deficiency as a birth defect.

Achievements

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyacı, Sumeyye 2003 births Living people People from Eskişehir Turkish watercolourists Sportswomen with disabilities S5-classified para swimmers Turkish female butterfly swimmers Turkish female backstroke swimmers Turkish female freestyle swimmers People without hands 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Paralympic swimmers for Turkey Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Islamic Solidarity Games gold medalists for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games bronze medalists for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games