While sharing my story with you in all its simplicity, with your permission, I would like to first thank
my mother and all the individuals and institutions who have supported me throughout my life. Thank you for being there.
I was born in Istanbul on June 23, 2010. I must also thank my family for choosing the name Su.
My mother is a physical education teacher and swimming coach. My biological father and mother separated when I was 10 months old. My mother and I moved from Istanbul to Sakarya.
My mother was a teacher at a private school. She also worked as a swimming coach at different clubs in the Sakarya Olympic Swimming Pool. After school, she would pick me up from daycare and we would go to the pool. I would fall asleep in my mother’s arms during the last lessons. When I was 2.5 years old, my mother always tells me that she taught me to stay afloat in the water in a week. She was always worried about me falling into the pool during the lessons. My mother didn’t give me swimming lessons until I was 4 years old. When she tells me about those times, she would say how happy I was in the water and that’s why she always let me play so I could fully explore the water; I vaguely remember those times, I was really very happy. My mother would teach her students, and I would dive into the 3m deep Sakarya Olympic Swimming Pool alongside her.
My mother founded the Sakarya Yıldızlar Swimming Club in December 2013. I asked her, “Why are you taking a risk by leaving school and all the clubs you worked for and opening your own club?”
My mother explained her decision by saying, “You were very young, and I had to work very hard. In order to raise you well, I couldn’t lose your best years by constantly leaving you in daycare amidst this work intensity. When I opened my own club, I adjusted all the class groups to suit you, and now no one can complain that their child is with them. Now I can do all my studies with you, and even in the study environment, we weren’t separated; we were sharing life together in its truest sense.”
At the age of 4, my mother enrolled me in both the club’s group classes and also gave me one-on-one swimming lessons. I remember I was around 6 years old and had learned all four styles and could swim the 200m Individual Medley. At 7, I participated in my first licensed encouragement competition, and from my first competition in Sakarya province, I always won first place in all four events. Until the age of 10, I participated in both local and national competitions. I generally never lost first place in the Freestyle, Backstroke, and 200m Individual Medley events. My mother was proud of my achievements, she informed the local and national press, and my stories appeared in local newspapers and on the internet.
There would be different news headlines like, “The water didn’t leave any medals behind,” “Sakarya, the shining star of the stars.” My mother was extremely disciplined; when I was little, I didn’t understand why she took it so seriously. She would say, “The attitude you show today determines the path of your tomorrows, so whatever you do, be serious and disciplined.” There was never any playing during training, even though I was little and thought, “What’s the big deal?” Sometimes, after training, she would allow the team to play for about 5 minutes. We would be very happy, then we would get out of the pool. At the age of 11-12, as an athlete of Sakarya Stars Club within the scope of national development projects, I participated in Regional and Turkish Championships. I won countless Turkish Championships in different distances in Freestyle and Backstroke.
In May 2023, at the age of 13, I was selected for the Turkish Swimming Federation team for the championship in Burgas, Bulgaria. I wore my first national team uniform, and I was very excited and proud. In the 13-14 age group, I won 1st place in the 800m Freestyle and 3rd place in the 100m Backstroke. In 2024-2025, I transferred from Sakarya Yıldızlar Swimming Club to Fenerbahçe. In April 2025, in Slovenia, wearing the Multinational Yıldızlar national team uniform, I won 3rd place in the 800m Freestyle and 3rd place with the 4x200m Freestyle relay team.
For open water swimming training, my mother would take me to Sapanca Lake with a few of her athletes, and we would train in the lake.
My first open water competition was in 2018, when I was only 8 years old. My mother, with special permission, registered me for the AquaKids Swimming event, which was held in Bodrum as part of the International Arena AquaChallenge Championships and allowed children aged 9-12 to get acquainted with open water swimming. I was very excited, I even cried from excitement. I first encountered buoy turns in open water at the AquaKids Swimming Event. There were medals for the top 3, and I came in 4th. I was very upset and started to cry. My mother, who was also my coach, hugged and kissed me when I cried. I remember her words like it was yesterday: “Of course you’ll be excited, these are very normal and beautiful feelings. Don’t forget these first excitements of your life; they will form the foundation of your future, and your Open Water story began with Aquakids.” And that’s exactly what happened.
Over the years, I achieved countless Turkish Championships in 1km-2km-3km-5km Open Water races. From the age of 11, I participated in the Swimming Federation’s Open Water Development camps.
In August 2024, at the age of 14, despite being the youngest, I came 3rd in the overall women’s category among over a thousand athletes in the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race (6500m).
In August 2025, at the age of 15, I came 1st in the women’s overall category in the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race. In 2024, at the age of 14, I was selected for the European Junior and World Junior national team squads as the 14-15 age group Turkish champion in the 5km race with the results I achieved in the Open Water national team selections in Marmaris.
In June 2024, in Vienna, Austria, during the 5km race at the European Junior Championships, I was running for 3rd place when I received a few blows and couldn’t breathe. I tried to breathe by changing my swimming position, but according to the rules, I was first shown a yellow warning card, then immediately a red card, meaning I was disqualified. I didn’t realize it. They started blowing whistles at me, but we were already in the final lap, and I didn’t understand why they kept blowing whistles at me. It turned out I had already been disqualified and, according to the rules, I had to get out of the water, but I wasn’t aware of anything and I recovered and finished the race in 6th place. I took off my glasses; my eye hurt so much, it was swollen and bruised. At that moment, I didn’t think much about the pain. I told my mother, as my coach, “I took a lot of blows, but I didn’t give up. I got good points for the Turkish national team.” My mother explained the situation and said I was disqualified. I was very upset, I cried a lot. My heart ached.
At that moment, my mother said, “Your health comes first,” and took me to the medical tent. They treated my eye and then explained why I was disqualified. “We are experiencing a very important moment in your swimming career today. Today is the day you begin to grow in open water. Never forget these blows, this disqualification. Learn from your mistakes and next year show Turkey and Europe who you are with your strokes,” she said. Three months later, in September 2024, at the World Junior Open Water Championships held on the island of Sardinia in Italy, I achieved 4th place in the 5km race in the 14-15 age category. I was getting closer to my goals. This made me very happy and increased my motivation. I would succeed. I had confidence in myself.
In April 2025, at the Open Water national team selection in Antalya, I became the Open Age Turkish Champion in the 5km and 10km races, and I was selected for the European Senior and European Junior national teams.
In June 2025, the European Junior Open Water Championships in Setubal, Portugal arrived.
I hadn’t forgotten the disqualification I received in Vienna last year and those competitors. I worked for a whole year, waiting for this moment. In the 14-15 age group 5km race, I started in first place in the first group and finished in first place. This time, the commentator wasn’t announcing “Turkish Su Inal disqualified.”
Everywhere, the commentator was saying “Turkish Su Inal European Junior Champion,” “WINNER SU INAL,” and with my time of 56:55:23, I had also achieved the best European Junior time to date. It was like a dream. My mother and I exchanged glances. She was crying, wrapped in the Turkish flag. I ran to her and said, “Mom, we did it!” Then I hugged my father, and then I hugged our coaches and teammates from the Turkish team. At the award ceremony, the Turkish flag was raised and our national anthem was sung. It was an incredibly proud moment that I will never forget in my life.I had succeeded.
In 2025, I finished 14th in the Open Age Category at the European Senior 5km race in Croatia and qualified for the World Championships.
In July 2025, at the World Championships in Singapore, we started the 5km race in the Open Age Category with 78 athletes. Despite being the youngest athlete,
I finished the race in 27th place. In the 10km race, I finished 42nd out of 70 athletes. These rankings were quite good. Because my competitors were much more experienced athletes with European,
World and Olympic rankings.
I want to record the experiences I gained at this World Championship in my mind and prepare accordingly for the 2027 World Championship. Because my goal is to get into the top 24 in the 2027 World Championship and qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. After that, I want to work with such intense dedication for the Olympics and make history in Open Water swimming by winning an Olympic medal for my country, although I don’t know the color of the medal. I finished the 2024-2025 season in 7th place in Europe in the Open Age Category at the European Aquatics, and 1st in Europe in my age category (born 2006-2011) in the Junior category.
I finished 52nd out of 200 athletes in the World Open Age Elite category published by WORLD AQUATICS in October 2025. I became one of only two athletes in the world to achieve this.
In the 2025-2026 season, I transferred from Fenerbahçe SK to Galatasaray Sports Club. From now on, I will swim first for my COUNTRY and then for GALATASARAY.
My GOALS for the 2025-2026 season are to win the European and World Junior Championships and to be in the top three in the European Senior Championships.
With love and respect
SU İNAL
