100 Meters For 100 Years
Women go deep in Türkiye 2023! Şahika Ercümen has completed a freedive of 100m in 3 minutes 14 seconds.
National diver Şahika Ercümen breaks world record for holding breath and deep diving unaccompanied.
As I understand, Şahika Ercümen is defined as a Freediving World Recordholder and the achievement is to dive to a depth of 100m/320ft. using a single breath for 3 minutes and 14 seconds.
In October 2001, Mayadrom Sports Centre in Istanbul me to produce paintings with imagery intended to reflect the philosophy of MSC:
Body
Soul
Technology
From the press release at the time:
Among these works, Ned has produced Yasemin, inspired by Yasemin Dalkılıç: Wherever Women Go Deep. The 3m x 1.3m painting is of Yasemin Dalkılıç who embodies the qualities of the MSC philosophy - she is a young Turkish heroine to be celebrated and supported. MSC take this opportunity to highlight the achievements of a young Turkish, deep diving world record holder. Indeed, a young Turkish woman who represents an international success story for all young women around the world.
https://yasemindalkilic.com/biography-and-records/
https://yasemindalkilic.com/2021/08/23/what-is-freediving/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasemin_Dalk%C4%B1l%C4%B1%C3%A7
She’s even been reproduced for Tussauds:
https://yasemindalkilic.com/portfolio-item/madame-tussauds/
This ‘PR’ shot illustrates the size of the original painting.
I searched for media coverage on the achievement of Şahika Ercümen, but it seems lacking. A Turkish friend wondered if this were because her sponsor was blacklisted. Apparently, Kalyon Holding and or Kalyon Energy are or were her sponsors. It turns out Kalyon is part of Limak Holding. They are a Turkish construction company that built FC Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou Stadium, but now destroying a centuries-old forest the size of 105 football stadiums in Akbelen, Türkiye, motivating thousands of environmentalists to protest. They ask Barcelona to ‘Stop Limak Save Nature’.
Here:
https://www.internationaliststandpoint.org/call-for-international-solidarity-to-stop-the-massacre-in-akbelen-forest-in-turkey/
I know nothing of this specific issue. I do know there is no anthropogenic climate emergency, while at the same time, I am aware there can be unnecessary and devastating forest removal in the name of ‘business’. There is devastating earth excavation in the name of electric vehicles, but that would be another Substack post entirely.
‘Limak and IC İçtaş Holding, fully supported by the Turkish government, is now cutting down all the hundred years old trees and destroying the whole ecosystem in the 740-decare section of the Akbelen Forest (in Milas district of Aegean Muğla province) to expand a coal mine that will provide lignite to the Yeniköy and Kemerköy thermal power plants.’
Oops! I approve of coal mines. I loathe solar panel ‘farms’ in our East Anglian green fields and wind turbines irritate me, whether on land or at sea.
Şahika Ercümen:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Eahika_Erc%C3%BCmen
This is a quote perhaps just before the record breaking event:
“Your goal for 2023 is to dive 100 meters to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. Are there any other goals you have set for this year?”
The interview is in both Turkish and, scroll down for English:
https://www.yuzumagazine.com/sahika-ercumen
Turks are doing it closer to the UK too.
Aysu Turkoglu, a 22-year-old swimmer, becomes 1st Turkish woman to swim across the North Channel
Aysu Türkoğlu swam the North channel in 16 hours and 28 minutes. So, she became first and youngest Turkish woman to swim there.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230810-aysu-turkoglu-becomes-first-turkiye-woman-to-swim-across-north-channel/
Previous:
https://turkiye2023.substack.com/p/97th-gazi-horse-race