My dear friend Pınar, my lane companion of 50 years, came in first place at the European Masters Swimming Championships held in Rome in 2022.
From time to time, when I happen to meet lovely Pınar at the pool, we talk about training. I admire her determination. She swims without missing a beat, 5-6 times a week, and remains dedicated to her nutrition and daily routine. I will never forget the time we went out to eat with our old pool friends, and she brought her own vegetable dish.
In 2013, Italian swimmer Guilia Noera, who also competed in the same race, made the following comment about Pınar on her Instagram account, translated into Turkish:
"DESIRE TAKES YOU EVERYWHERE... It's been a week since my 'death' in the 200 butterfly at the European Championships, and I already told you that. What I didn't tell you and just discovered by chance: the winner of Rome, @doropisi, her story, the other expressions that I thought I didn't know (well, good or bad, we all know each other for years!). And instead of them... Actually, she was also in the same event in 2013 at the European Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, but I didn't notice. She was in the first lane, and I was in the fourth lane. I knew my race was only against the very strong German Reibel-Oberle, and it was. @doropisi got a modest 3.18 and I don't even remember how much I did (maybe she will tell me this time!). So, nine years ago, in Eindhoven, at around the age of 46, she was definitely not among the strongest in a 'big' and very difficult race. And now, NINE YEARS LATER, HERE SHE IS, ON THE TOP STEP OF THE PODIUM. I don't know anything about her, what did she do to 'loosen up the spring' to train so well and improve this much! But one thing is certain: her success will definitely be the result of great determination and many sacrifices. Because the 200 butterfly cannot be invented; it must be built with self-denial. By the way, she had a very smart and tactical race, she only passed me in the last 7/8 laps!"
Champions are not born easily. There is a magnificent willpower behind this success.
Turgut Esen