Ayşe Tekdal

Ayşe Tekdal — Biography

Ayşe Tekdal is one of the leading Turkish race walkers of her generation. The Diyarbakır native, who competes over 5,000 m, 10,000 m and 20 km, represented Turkey at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games and was the first Turkish woman to win the Balkan Race Walking Championship. She competes for Kayapınar Belediyespor in her hometown.

Her rise began in her teens: in 2016 she took silver in the 5,000 m walk at the European Athletics Youth Championships in Tbilisi, in 22:58.17, behind her compatriot Meryem Bekmez. In 2018 she won bronze over 10 km at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Taicang, China. In 2019 she reached gold in the 20 km at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Gävle, Sweden; the same year she started the 20 km at the World Championships in Doha but was disqualified after a fourth red card. In January 2021 she set Turkish records, senior and under-23, with 21:00.97 in the indoor 5,000 m walk, beating a senior mark held by Bekmez.

The real turning point came in Antalya in 2021, when she won the Balkan Race Walking Championship in 1:30:12 and earned her Olympic qualifying place. She finished 39th in the 20 km walk in Tokyo, and in Paris in 2024 she took part in the marathon race walk mixed relay with Mazlum Demir, finishing 23rd.