Göksu Üçtaş Şanlı (; born August 30, 1990, in
Åžahinbey
Şahinbey is a municipality and district of Gaziantep Province, Turkey. Its area is 960 km2, and its population is 941,055 (2022). It was named after Şahin Bey (1877–1920), a Turkish National Movement commander. It covers the southern part ...
,
Gaziantep Province
Gaziantep Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in south-central Turkey. It is located in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in ...
. She was the first Turkish female artistic gymnast to compete at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, doing so at the
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Personal life
Üçtaş was born in
Åžahinbey
Şahinbey is a municipality and district of Gaziantep Province, Turkey. Its area is 960 km2, and its population is 941,055 (2022). It was named after Şahin Bey (1877–1920), a Turkish National Movement commander. It covers the southern part ...
in 1990. She took up gymnastics when she was five years old. In 2008 she began studies at
Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University
Bolu is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District,Özgür Şanlı in 2013. They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Lina, in 2015.
Career
2006–2008
Üçtas became age-eligible for senior competition in 2006. She competed at the 2006 World Championships. In doing so she became the first female gymnast to represent Turkey at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
.
Üçtas was meant to compete at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
but failed to do so due to a severe neck injury which could have stopped her gymnastics career.
2009–2010
Üçtas competed at the
2009 Mediterranean Games
The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the International Committee of Mediterran ...
held in
Pescara
Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. She placed seventh in the all-around and won silver on vault behind Youna Dufournet. She later competed at the 2009 World Championships where she placed 38th in the all-around during qualifications.
In 2010, Üçtaş won the bronze medal on floor exercise at the Doha World Cup. At the Ostrava World Cup she won gold on floor exercise and silver on vault and balance beam.
Bolu Province
Bolu Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in north-western Turkey, between the capital, Ankara, and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. Its area is 8,313 km,2, and its population is 320,824 (2022). The capital city of the pr ...
in 2011.
Üçtaş competed at the Olympic Test Event where she qualified to compete in the
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. In doing so she became the first-ever Olympic female gymnast from Turkey. Due to an injury suffered during training prior to the Olympics, she only competed on balance beam. With a score of 11.333, Üçtaş ranked 77th on the apparatus and did not advance to the final.
2013–2015
In early 2013 Üçtaş announced her retirement from gymnastics due to a long-lasting injury on her left elbow. On August 14, 2013, she married gymnast Özgün Şanlı 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 ...
. Üçtaş Şanlı gave birth to their daughter in 2015.
2016–2017
Eleven months after giving birth Üçtaş Şanlı returned to competition at the Mersin Challenge Cup. She won the gold medal on floor exercise."Uctas Sanli Goksu" gymnastics.sport. 2019 September 20. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
At the 2017 Baku World Cup, Üçtaş Şanlı finished seventh on balance beam and fifth on floor exercise. At the Doha World Cup she finished sixth on balance beam and fifth on floor exercise. In May Üçtaş Şanlı competed at the
Islamic Solidarity Games
The Islamic Solidarity Games () is a multinational, multi-sport event. Managed jointly by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA), the Games involve elite athletes of the OIC competing in a ...
where she helped Turkey finish second as a team. Individually she placed ninth in the all-around but won gold on balance beam and silver on floor exercise.
2018–2020
At the Baku World Cup Üçtaş Şanlı finished eighth on vault, sixth on balance beam, and sixth on floor exercise. At the Koper Challenge Cup she finished fifth on balance beam. At the Mersin Challenge Cup she won bronze on vault and gold on balance beam and floor exercise. At the
2018 Mediterranean Games
The 2018 Mediterranean Games (, ), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games (, ) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 June to 1 July 2018 in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Tarragona was ...
Üçtaş Şanlı won silver on floor exercise.
At the 2019 Koper Challenge Cup Üçtaş Şanlı finished sixth on balance beam and seventh on floor exercise. she next competed at the Mersin Challenge Cup where she won gold on floor exercise.
At the 2020 European Championships Üçtaş Şanlı won the silver medal on floor exercise, which was the first-ever medal for Turkey at the event.
2021–2022
Üçtaş Şanlı competed at the
European Championships
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
where she placed 34th in the all-around during qualification. She competed at various
World Cups
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
before competing at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
where she finished 42nd during qualifications. She competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial where she finished fifth in the three-event all-around. Üçtaş Şanlı ended the season competing at the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
, a unique mixed-pairs event. She was partnered with
Ahmet Önder
Ahmet Önder (born 11 July 1996) is a Turkish artistic gymnast. He represented Turkey at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. He is the 2019 World silver medalist on the parallel bars.
Early life
Önder was born in Ödemiş, Turkey in 1996. ...
; they finished fifth.
Üçtaş Şanlı competed at the 2022 Osijek Challenge Cup where she won bronze on floor exercise. She next competed at the
2022 Mediterranean Games
The 2022 Mediterranean Games (), officially known as the XIX Mediterranean Games and commonly known as Oran 2022, was an international multi-sport event held from 25 June to 6 July 2022 in Oran, Algeria. Oran was announced as the host city at th ...
where she helped Turkey finish fourth as a team. Individually Üçtaş Şanlı finished fourth on floor exercise. At the
European Championships
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
she helped Turkey finish 20th as a team; she did not qualify for any event finals.
2023
On 25 April 2023 Üçtaş Şanlı announced her retirement from the sport.