Turkish middle-distance runner Tugba Guvenc is hoping the injury she sustained during the World Championships in London will not stop her from winning a medal at the Taipei Summer Universiade.
Guvenc, who is to compete in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, on Wednesday told reporters that she is aiming to win a medal in tomorrow’s final even though she has not fully recovered.
“The color of the medal is not important. I just want to win one,” the 23-year-old student from Halic University said.
Guvenc hurt her ankles during the water jump at the International Association of Athletics Federations’ World Championships in London, clocking only 10 minutes and 13.03 seconds and failing to advance to the finals.
The athlete said her biggest rivals at the Universiade are Genevieve Lalonde from Canada and Belen Casetta from Argentina, who both made the final at Worlds.
Guvenc clocked 9 minutes and 36.14 seconds to win the gold medal in the women’s steeplechase at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships and won bronze in the same event at this year’s European Team Championships.
However, Guvenc did not start out as a middle-distance runner. She trained for eight years as a sprinter and did not begin competing in the steeplechase until 2015.
Nevertheless, her sprint training has been helpful, because speed is especially important on the last lap, she said.
Although hurdling is easy for Guvenc because she also trained in the 400m hurdles, she finds the water jump particularly challenging.
“I lose many seconds after the water jump and there are seven jumps,” she said.
Runners have to clear seven water jumps and 28 barriers in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Guvenc is confident that she will improve with time and is looking to make the finals at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In this year’s Islamic Solidarity Games in May, Guvenc ran her personal best of 9 minutes and 26.09 seconds, despite not realizing which day was the final.
She went on an 11km training run the day before, but still placed fourth, not far behind the bronze medalist.
She burst into tears after the event at having missed out on a medal, but was all smiles when she learned she had achieved a personal best. Later she cried again when thinking about the medal, Guvenc said, laughing.
Asked how she overcomes difficulties or downtime in such a physically demanding sport, Guvenc said that the theme song from Rocky always gets her back onto her feet.
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