Turkish Paralympic athlete Serkan Yıldırım’s gold medal reinstated

Turkey’s Paralympic sprinter Serkan Yıldırım had his gold medal from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games restored after a two‑year legal dispute. The International Paralympic Committee had initially stripped the medal following a protest, but the Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Hamza Yerlikaya announced that Turkish courts confirmed Yıldırım’s right to the award.

The reinstatement was confirmed at a press briefing hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, attended by the Turkish Blind Sports Federation president Ayhan Yıldırım and the athlete himself. Yıldırım is now set to continue competing in the T10 classification, having successfully completed a new international classification in Mexico.

Yerlikaya stressed that the decision overturns what he described as an “illicit application” that led to the medal’s cancellation, and hailed the outcome as a victory for Turkish disabled athletes.