Ä°lkay Dikmen (born February 2, 1981) is a Turkish swimmer competing in the
breaststroke
Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...
events. The tall sportswoman at is a member of
Fenerbahçe Swimming in
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 ...
.
Biography
She was born to Atilla and Ä°lknur Dikmen in
Ä°zmir
Ä°zmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of Ä°zmir Province. In 2024, the city of Ä°zmir had ...
. She has a younger brother Eray.
In 1992, she became the Turkish champion in her age group in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke, the 100 m backstroke, the 100 m freestyle and the 200 m individual medley events. She swam in the swimming team of Fenerbahçe during the last two years of high school.
After completing the high school in Turkey, she went to
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...
,
nited States for university education. Between 2000 and 2003, Dikmen swam for the University of Illinois' sports team Illinois Fighting Illini#Swimming and Diving: Women">Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports.
The university op ...
.
She contributed to her school's success and set also a school record in the 200-yard breaststroke event.
Dikmen took part at the 100 m breaststroke and 200 m breaststroke events of the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics. In July 2004, she carried the Olympic torch in Istanbul.
At the European Short Course Swimming Championships 2005 held in Trieste, Italy, she set a