Burçak Tümay Pekel

Burçak Tümay Pekel is a 33-year-old open water swimmer from Turkey.

Open Water Swimming Highlights

• Pekel participated in the Swim from Mersin to Girne - 90K, a 90 km relay swim between Mersin in Turkey and Girne on the north coast of Cyprus on Peace Day in Turkey on 1 September 2019 with Erman Akkaya, Temel Yaki, Boran Karataş, Emin Aydin Yağmurlu, Mustafa Şakir Başaran, Mehmet Hilmi Soylu, Zafer Özdem, Deniz Kayadelen, Pelin Çelik, Nukhet Atilgan, and Murat Meto.
• Pekel participated in the Peace Route Swim, a 91.27 km (48 nautical miles) 9-person relay with members from Hacettepe University Youth and Sports Club Association Master Swimming Team that started at the Mersin Taşucu Harbor in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and finished on the Turkish mainland in the town of Silifke in Mersin. The relay took 37 hours 30 minutes and was part of World Peace Day. The team started on 2 September 2020 at 4:20 am and finished on 3 September 2020 at 5:50 pm as the 9 swimmers each completed four one-hour legs in rotation.

2020 WOWSA Awards

The Peace Route Swim was nominated for the 2020 WOWSA Awards in the World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year category with the following nomination: Nine swimmers, ages 33 to 60, from Turkey took on an ambitious goal: to swim 91.27 km from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the Turkish mainland. This was the first time this route had ever been attempted. Along the 37 hour 30 minute relay crossing in the Mediterranean Sea, Erman Akkaya (55), Temel Yakşi (60), Nükhet Atilgan (46), Mehmet Hilmi Soylu (43), Pelin Çelik (48), Zafer Özdem (60), Deniz Kayadelen (33), Burçak Tümay Pekel (33), and Murat Meto (47) encountered much marine life including sharks, while facing warm water and air. They laughed and they worried. They relaxed and they stressed out with the vastly dynamic sea conditions, ranging from a calm sea and tranquil conditions during the daytime hours to challenging turbulent conditions over a long night of uncertainty. For pioneering a new relay swim route from Northern Cyprus to the Turkish mainland, for bringing together young and older swimmers of both genders and various speeds in a successful relay, and for swimming for and celebrating peach through the expression of open water swimming on World Peace Day, the Peace Route Swim by nine swimmers of Turkey is a worthy nominee for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.

2020 Peace Route Swim Relay Members

• Erman Akkaya (55 years old from Turkey)
• Temel Yakşi (60 years old from Turkey)
• Nükhet Atilgan (46 years old from Turkey)
• Mehmet Hilmi Soylu (43 years old from Turkey)
• Pelin Çelik (48 years old from Turkey)
• Zafer Özdem (60 years old from Turkey)
• Deniz Kayadelen (33 years old from Turkey)
• Burçak Tümay Pekel (33 years old from Turkey)
• Murat Meto (47 years old from Turkey)

External links

• Mediterranean Peace Route Goes International
• Swimmers For the Third Mediterranean Peace Route
• 2020 WOWSA Awards – World Open Water Swimming Performance Of The Year Nominees
• Peace Route Swim Success From Northern Cyprus To Turkish Mainland
• Peace Route Swim
• 90 km Relay Swim Between Mersin And Girne
• Open Water Swimming
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Guinness World Records, Part Two Of Two