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One of the top swimmers in Turkey, Umut Yildirim has announced that he will be traveling to the United States in 2023 to join the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Yildirim currently swims with Enka Spor Kulubu in Istanbul, Turkey, and has represented his country at the international level.
Earlier this year, Yildirim represented Turkey at the European Junior Championships, competing in the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyles. His best performance came in the 1500, where he cracked the top-16 with a 15th place finish and a time of 15:54.68. He also snagged 17th in the 800 free (8:18.52) and 34th in the 400 free (4:04.18). Just a few weeks later, Yildirim finished in the top-8 of two events at the Turkish Summer Nationals. His best finish was in the 400 free, where he took fourth in 4:00.31.
Yildirim is a part of a blossoming of distance swimming talent in Turkish swimming. At the 2021 European Championships, Yildirim was joined in the distance events by Batuhan Filiz, who claimed gold in the 400 freestyle, and Yigit Aslan, who was first in the 800 and 3rd in both the 400 and 1500. Filiz is set to join Texas A&M next season, while Aslan already holds the NCAA’s third-fastest time in the 500 free as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin this year.
Top SCM Times (and SCY conversions)
- 200 free – 1:57.72 (1:46.05)
- 400/500 free – 3:54.27 (4:27.73)
- 1500/1650 freestyle – 15:33.09 (15:27.52)
Yildirim will be a big addition to the Gamecock men who are currently in the midst of their first season under new head coach Jeff Poppell. With the team’s times this season, his converted times would put him among the team’s top distance swimmers in both the 500 and 1650 freestyles. The school’s distance group has already seen significant improvements this year, with multiple swimmers faster than last year’s top performers.
At the conference level, Yildirim’s converted times would have scored points in the 1650 at the 2021 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. His converted time in the 1650 would have put him 21st in the event, faster than any other South Carolina man last season. He also would have narrowly missed finals in the 500, with the 24th fastest man in prelims touching in 4:22.77.
Yildirim isn’t South Carolina’s first distance commit for the fall of 2023. Earlier this fall, Raymond Prosinki became the school’s first addition to the class of 2027. Prosinki also projects to compete primarily in the distance events at the college level, as well as in the IM events.
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