Pınar Saka

Pınar Saka — Biography

Pınar Saka is the first and only Turkish woman to have represented Turkey in the 400 metres at the Olympics, at London 2012. She is known as a sprinter who set several Turkish records and, after leaving the track, reached a wide audience through Survivor, to which she returned more than once.

She took up the sport at ENKA SK in 1994 and set her first record at nine, over 300 metres in Istanbul. After a hamstring injury in 2003 she moved from the 100 and 200 metres to the 400 metres in 2004. In 2005 she went to the United States to study, ran for the University of Nebraska, broke school records and was named NCAA regional athlete of the year in 2008 and 2009, then national athlete of the year in 2009. She won 4x400 m bronze at the 2005 Mediterranean Games and silver at the 2011 Universiade. In 2011 she ran the 400 m in 51.53, which met the Olympic A standard and made her the first Turkish woman under 52 seconds. In London she finished fourth in her heat and narrowly missed the semi-final, and also ran in the relay.

In 2013 she was sanctioned with a three-year ban following abnormalities in her biological passport. She turned down a Survivor offer in 2013, competed in 2017 with the celebrities' team, and took part in the 2024 All Star and 2025 seasons. She also completed an MBA at Boğaziçi University; she has a son.