THE FLATS – One look into the Georgia Tech swimming record books and a trend begins to emerge. Batur Ünlü is first in program history in the 200 free and 500 free, second in the 100 free, and holds two relay records. Berke Saka has the best time in program history in the 200 back and is third in the 100 back and 200 IM. Defne Taçyildiz holds the third fastest time in the 200 fly, fourth fastest time in the 1000 free and is eighth in the 400 IM. Mert Kilavuz owns the top times in the 1000 free and 1650 free while being second to Ünlü in the 500 free.
What do all these record setting Jackets have in common? They all hail from Turkey and are all Olympic level swimmers. Ünlü, Saka and Taçyildiz all swam for Turkey at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while Kilavuz put up an Olympic Selection Time that was 1.23 seconds shy of the Olympic Qualifying Time in the 1500 free 11 days past the qualification deadline.
The stream of Turkish Olympic level swimmers will continue at Tech with Deniz Ertan, another 2020 Tokyo Olympian, is committed to Georgia Tech and will be on The Flats starting in the 2022-23 campaign. This influx of Turkish Olympic caliber swimmers starts back in Turkey as they all started to swim together at the elite meets in Turkey in their early teenage years.
These five swimmers started to notice each other consistently on the podium at national team meets where they quickly became friends. This bond would carry them through many Turkish national meets and eventually to Georgia Tech.
Saka, Taçyildiz and Ünlü showing off their Olympic tattoos
Ünlü, Saka and Kilavuz started to notice each other around five years ago as their names rang through the arena after they stood atop the podium time and time again. They started to become closer three years ago right as Ünlü was making his decision on his swimming career after high school.
Ünlü was the first Turkish swimmer to arrive in Atlanta. He received an email from the coaching staff and asked around. For him, the balance of academics and swimming was paramount in his decision.
“Education is the most important part for me,” Ünlü said. “I saw that at Georgia Tech the balance is really good between education and swimming.”
As Ünlü was setting program records, he was still talking to his friends back home. Kilavuz and Saka were the next to decide. Kilavuz wants to be an industrial engineer and Tech’s program is ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report. This made his decision easy.
“It was one of the happiest days for me,” Ünlü remembers. “We were super close in Turkey and now one of my closest friends was coming to my school.”
Saka was still torn between Tech and two other premier institutions. As Saka was deciding, he was at the 2019 Junior Worlds with Kilavuz who had already committed to Georgia Tech. They started discussing going to the same university in the United States.
“It was one of the best things for me to go to a school where I know someone. If I knew someone in the school, it would be much easier for me to get things done,” Saka said.
“Batur has a lot of experience,” Kilavuz remarked. “He helps us with a lot of stuff. He already knew. It is helping so much.”
“I was telling all of my teammates last year that next year was going to be exciting because my best friends from Turkey are going to come here,” Ünlü said.
Ünlü's medals for school and country
Taçyildiz joined Saka and Kilavuz in the same freshman class. Taçyildiz joined the pipeline of Turkish Olympic caliber swimmers, her Georgia Tech Turkish family.
“When I got here the boys and I started to get to know each other and we became like a small family,” Taçyildiz said. “Deniz [Ertan] and I are really close.”
Taçyildiz and Ertan have been inseparable since high school. They both attended Ted Ankara College Foundation High School in Ankara, Turkey. Their swim careers are interwoven. They have competed at every national meet together. They competed at Short Course Worlds together this past winter. At the pinnacle of the sport, they competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics together.
When it came down to deciding where to go for her collegiate swimming career, Ertan had a simple choice. With Taçyildiz and the rest of her country people at Tech, she had someone she knew to help with being so far away from home and family.
When asked if she had an impact on Ertan coming to Georgia Tech, Taçyildiz, with a big smile on her face said, “Yes! We’re like this,” as she interlocked her index and middle fingers.
As the Turkish pipeline flows, and more Olympic caliber swimmers come to The Flats from Turkey, the connection between a country spanning two continents and an institute in Atlanta, Ga. grows stronger.
When you look to the pool at the ACC Championships and see Ünlü, Saka, Taçyildiz and Kilavuz racking up the medals, it is just the start.
“It’s like generations going on here,” Kilavuz said.
“When I came here I was expecting so many things,” Ünlü said. “I was dreaming of such big things and I received everything I expected.”
“I’m blessed,” Kilavuz added.
