Gamze Bulut

Gamze Bulut
Personal information
Nationality Turkey
Born (1992-08-03) August 3, 1992 (age 32)
Eskişehir, Turkey
Height166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight48 kg (106 lb)
Sport
SportMiddle-distance running
ClubFenerbahçe Athletics
Coached bySüleyman Altınoluk
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Turkey
Olympic Games
Disqualified 2012 London 1500 m
European Championships
Disqualified 2012 Helsinki 1500 m
European U23 Championships
Disqualified 2013 Tampere 5000 m

Gamze Bulut (pronounced [ˈɡamze ˈbuɫut]; born August 3, 1992, in Eskişehir) is a Turkish middle-distance runner.

Due to receive the 2012 gold medals as Olympic and European champion following the disqualification of teammate Aslı Çakır Alptekin from both events, Bulut herself came under investigation for abnormalities in her athlete 'passport', and on 1 June 2016, Turkish media reported that Bulut had also been found to have employed illegal performance enhancing methods by dint of observations of her athlete 'passport'. This was confirmed by the IAAF and Bulut lost her Olympic and European medals, and all medals and records from the date of the infraction, July 20, 2011, to 2016. She received a four-year ban until May 29, 2020.[1][2]

The 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall athlete at 48 kg (106 lb) was a member of Fenerbahçe Athletics, where she was coached by Süleyman Altınoluk.[3]

Career

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At the 2009 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Tampere, Finland, she became bronze medalist in the 2000 m steeplechase event with a time of 6:50.24. She won the gold medal of the 3000 m steeplechase event at the 2009 Balkan Junior Athletics Championships held in Greece.[4]

Bulut also lost the silver medal in the 1500 meters from the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, when finishing second behind her compatriot Aslı Çakır Alptekin.

She took second place and the silver medal in 1500 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, again finishing behind Alptekin. Bulut had set a personal best time of 4:01:18 in the semi-finals of the competition. Alptekin's results from 2010 onwards were subsequently stripped due to doping offences, making Bulut the de facto Olympic and European champion.[5] However, in March 2016, it was reported that Bulut too was also under investigation for suspected doping.[6] Bulut subsequently received a four-year ban in 2017 backdated to 2011 with all her results from 2011 to 2016 disqualified.[7]

When the 5000 meters event at the 9th European Athletics U23 Championships was held in Tampere, Bulut won the gold medal setting a personal best time with 15:45.03.[8] However, following her doping ban in 2017 all her results backdated to 2011 were disqualified, including this performance.

Bulut returned to athletics competition in 2021 almost entirely in events run in Turkey.

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2009 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival Tampere, Finland 3rd 2000m sc 6:50.24
Balkan Junior Athletics Championships Schimatari, Greece 1st 3000m sc 10:57.26

References

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  1. ^ Bulut to lose medals Archived 2016-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, in Turkish
  2. ^ "Elvan Abeylegesse and Gamze Bulut sanctions announced by IAAF - Athletics Weekly". Athletics Weekly. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  3. ^ "Sporcular/Atletizm-Gamze Bulut" (in Turkish). Gençlik ve Spor Bakanlığı-Türk Sporcular 2012 Londra Olimpiyatlarında. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  4. ^ "Atletizm'de Çevik ve Bulut'la sevindik". İstikbal (in Turkish). 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  5. ^ 17 August 2015. Turkey's Asli Cakir Alptekin stripped of Olympic 1500m title for doping. The Guardian. Retrieved on 02 April 2016.
  6. ^ Ingle, Sean (6 March 2016). "Turkish silver medal winner from London 2012 investigated for doping". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Elvan Abeylegesse, Gamze Bulut set to lose Olympic medals for doping". ESPN. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Turkey's Gamze Bulut grabs 5,000-meter gold medal at U23 Euros in Finland". Today's Zaman. 2015-07-15. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
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