By Training on a dirt track, Turkish athlete Nevin Yanit was the first women in her family to be allowed to do sports, and her success has been so celebrated she even has an athletics ground named after her in the Turkish city of Mersin.
“I wasn’t allowed to do sport,” her mum Semire explains, which is why her success as a female athlete has always been a source of great pride for the family.
Nevin’s determination to succeed pushed her through disappointment at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where she finished last, and has made her keen to do better this time round.
“It was a very sad moment for us,” her mum admits. “But I told her not to give up, to keep running.”
“The Olympics are an athlete’s greatest dream,” Nevin adds, saying that she’s worked hard on her technique, now she’s training on the running track rather than a dirt trail.
The hurdler won Gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2010 European Championships, putting the demons of 2008 behind her, and has every intention of repeating the feat in August.
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