Turk’s hot streak on the ice rink

Tuğba Karademir continues to carry the torch of Turkish figure skating almost single-handedly and proved it by winning a berth for the Winter Olympics for the second time.

Participating to the World Figure Skating Championship in Los Angeles last week, 24-year-old Karademir collected 80.07 points in the free program and 44.24 in the short program, finishing with a total of 124.31 points. Her overall finish in 21st position was slightly lower than expectations, but it was still enough to win her a berth for the forthcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The first figure skater to represent Turkey at the Winter Olympics with her performance in the 2006 games in Turin, Italy, Karademir will once again have a chance to bear the country’s flag in winter sports’ top-level competition.

Karademir thanked her fans with a short message on her Web site, www.tugbakarademir.org.

"Thanks for your beautiful words and support," the message said. "I love you all."

Moving abroad

The guest book page on the site was full of congratulatory messages from fans, not only from Turkey, but also Karademir’s followers from Canada, where she has lived since 1996. After her parents realized her potential, they decided to move to Ontario where she could continue her training. But despite her move, Karademir has continued to represent Turkey, even if she received offers to compete for the Canadian national team.

Turkish Ice Skating Federation Chairman Fahrettin Kandemir voiced his contentment that the country will be represented in the games by Karademir once again.

"I am really happy that she won the berth to the Olympics," said Kandemir. "We believed she could be in the first 15 places, and she took a fall while doing her best move. Every little mistake is considered in high-profile events like this. She could have done better, but what matters now is that she gets the ticket to the Olympics."

Despite Karademir’s efforts, the situation is not too bright for Turkish figure skating, but the chairman Kandemir said that Turkey is catching up with the world’s leading countries in the sport.

"There are promising skaters in lower age groups, but raising successful athletes is related to facilities," he explained. "We have just opened our facilities in Kocaeli and Erzurum, and one in Istanbul is on the way. A new generation of skaters is on the way, and Turkey will have much more successful days in the sport," said Kandemir.

Until that day comes, Karademir, Turkey’s ice princess, is likely to remain as Turkey’s sole name on the top level of figure skating.

Tuğba's sweet exile in Canada

Tuğba Karademir’s parents left the country when she was in her early teens after they realized that her obvious talent might be wasted with Turkey's indifference to ice-skating.

"We went to Canada with the risk of turning our lives upside down because there were not enough facilities and opportunities for physical training in Turkey," she had said in an interview with Turkish business daily Referans. "Those are the difficulties of being the first in something."

Karademir has refused offers from Canada for her to compete for them. The offer was useful because it triggered the Turkish Ice Skating Federation to see what it may be missing.

"I thought that the only way I could be noticed by Turkey and prove I was competent was to be selected for Canada's National Team," she said.