Swimmers Maya Gördümel and Mira Dedemen have become the first from a Didim club to compete at a national swimming final in Turkiye.

Representing Ege Yükselen Didim Swimming Club and supported by their Coach Ali Turan, Maya and Mira, both aged 11, took on the nation’s best young swimmers at the finals in Trabzon on the Black Sea.

Maya, of American Culture College and Mira, Valier Orta okul, qualified for the nationals having navigated three national heats in 2025. The finals were attended by around 1500 children – out of 10,000 potential entries – from 300 clubs from 81 provinces.

Both girls delivered outstanding results despite competing against elite clubs with extensive resources, including powerhouses Fenerbahçe and  Galatasaray, whose professional teams were supported by coaches, physiotherapists, sports psychologists, and nutritionists.

With athletes permitted to swim only four events at the finals, Maya, who had qualiifed for nine races out of ten, selected her strongest races. She secured a Top 10 finish in backstroke, Top 20 finishes in both the 50m and 100m freestyle, and a Top 50 result in the highly competitive 200m medley. Mira also represented Didim with pride, placing her within the Top 100 nationally in freestyle.

The achievements of these young athletes, combined with the dedication of their coach Ali, the club, their families and the Didim community, have brought immense pride to the region.

The demanding schedule, including a two-hour flight, six-day stay, and four consecutive days of 13-hour race sessions, would challenge even experienced athletes. Yet the girls’ resilience, determination and professionalism gained admiration from swimmers and coaches across Turkey.

Maya is now ranked among the Top 10 swimmers nationally for her age group, and following her finals performance, she has become the fourth fastest swimmer of her age in the Aegean region’s history.

With limited resources available for youth athletes in Didim, and with the girls training twice a day six days a week at American Culture College pool, their success is a powerful testament to what hard work, discipline and passion can achieve.

They have made Didim and the entire Aydın region extremely proud.

Maya’s mum, Sam, said: “Maya struggled with self-belief, experiencing two panic attacks and at points refusing to swim. The scale of the event was overwhelming: a 10-metre-deep pool with four-storey diving platforms, a mechanical roof, and nearly 6,000 spectators packed in over four intense days.”

Coach Ali Turan, a former swimmer and a physical education teacher who required permission from the local governor to accompany Maya and Mira to the competition, said he had only ever dreamed of a team from Didim reaching a national final, let alone securing a top-10 ranking in all of Türkiye.

He praised the girls’ dedication over the past six months, noting that with limited equipment and only a 25m pool at the American Culture School, very few athletes could have achieved what Maya and Mira did under such circumstances.

Sam added: “We sincerely hope that Didim Council will begin investing in the development of young athletes, creating opportunities for local children to compete at high-level events and pursue sporting careers without needing to relocate to larger cities. Didim needs and deserves to nurture its rising talent.

“As Maya’s mum, I am genuinely lost for words. This past month has been an emotional rollercoaster, and there were moments I wondered whether it was simply too much pressure for a young girl. I even questioned whether we should step back from the sport entirely.

“Now that we are home, I am grateful for the chance to process everything. Maya’s already gone back to training and that passion speaks for itself. We are incredibly proud.”