17-Yr-Old Kuzey Tuncelli Makes Waves At 6th Edirne Cup

6TH EDIRNE CUP – LC NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION (TUR)

• Friday, March 7th – Sunday, March 9th
• Edirne, Turkey
• LCM (50m)
• Results

The month of March brought us multiple World Championships Trials meets, including within the nation of Turkey.

The 6th Edirne Cup took place Friday, March 7th through Sunday, March 9th and 17-year-old Kuzey Tuncelli was a key star of the competition.

Tuncelli raced his way to gold in both the men’s 400m and 800m freestyle events.

In the 400m free, Tuncelli stopped the clock at a time of 7:47.46 to register yet another sub-7:50 performance and a near-lifetime best.

Tuncelli has been as quick as 7:47.29 in his career, a time he registered to place 11th in the event at the 2024 Olympic Games.

He now ranks #2 in this event worldwide this season, sitting only behind world leader Sam Short of Australia who owns the top time in the world at 7:45.02.

The men’s 400m free also saw Tuncelli top the podium, producing an outing of 3:50.35 to check in as the best time of his career.

His gold medal-worthy performance overtook his previous PB of 3:51.08 notched last December.

Career Highlights of Kuzey Tuncelli

• 2024 Short Course World Championships – bronze in men’s 1500m free
• 2024 European Championships – gold in men’s 1500m free
• 2023 World Junior Championships – gold in boys’ 800m free, gold in boys’ 1500m free
• 2024 European Junior Championships – gold in boys’ 1500m free, gold in boys’ 800m free, bronze in boys’ 4x200m free relay
• 2023 European Junior Championships – gold in boys’ 1500m free, bronze in 800m free