Two Turkish cousins, one journey

Becoming an elite athlete is never easy. Chasing your dreams often means sacrificing fun, precious family time, and cherished friendships. While others are out having a good time, high-performance competitors need to do their training. While family and friends gather around the dinner table, they may be alone in a quiet room, far away and missing home.

But sometimes, there is someone to share the struggle and hardships with. This is the case for Hasan Bulut and Mert Efe Kılıçer, who represent Türkiye in artistic gymnastics at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games.

Bulut and Kılıçer  are cousins who both started gymnastics at a young age. Bulut, the older of the two, began training in Kayseri when he was seven. Kılıçer, who was living in Ankara at the time, found inspiration in his relative’s journey and began to take interest in the sport. At the age of nine, he made a life-changing decision: he left his family and moved to Kayseri to be with his cousin.

“At nine years old, I made what was perhaps the hardest decision of my life,” said Kılıçer, now 20, who made his FISU Games debut at Chengdu 2023. “I left my family behind and moved to Kayseri. I started living with my grandmother. I was very young, and everything felt overwhelming. I missed my parents. Every morning, I would wake up with a heavy heart. But thanks to Hasan and my grandma, I stayed strong. They became my family—my brother and my mother.”

Sacrifices for a dream

As the years passed, the cousins grew up together and eventually decided to move once again—this time to Bolu, to train at one of Türkiye’s top Olympic preparation centres.

Bulut, 21, shared what led to that decision: “I had big dreams and had worked hard for them for many years. I didn’t want to let them slip away. I dedicated my youth to this sport, and I still am. Likewise, I chose to move to Bolu to reach even greater goals. As the eldest in the family, leaving behind my family was not easy. But I made that sacrifice not only for myself but for them too.”

Life in Bolu marked a new beginning for the pair. The tough conditions brought them even closer. They supported each other and kept pushing forward. The first major success came from Kılıçer, who won a silver medal on the horizontal bar and a bronze on the parallel bars at the 2020 Junior European Championships in Mersin, in his native country.

“After all those sacrifices and hardships, the results finally started to come,” Kılıçer said. “At 16, I won a silver and a bronze at the European Championships. That gave me strength. I held on even tighter to gymnastics and kept winning more medals.”

Always side by side

Today, Bulut and Kılıçer are both studying at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, in the Sports Management department. Though they now compete for different clubs, the rivalry does not harm their bond. They are opponents in Türkiye, and teammates on the international stage. Even as competitors, they remain each other’s biggest supporters.

The duo described its FISU Games experience in Germany in unisson: “Now, we’re at the University Games. With my cousin—no, my brother— we are doing our best to represent our country. Still away from our families, still back-to-back, just like those two boys we once were.”

Artistic gymnastics at Rhine-Ruhr 2025 began on Tuesday, 22 July. The Turkish team will compete on day two, with Bulut and Kılıçer supporting each other once again, this time aiming for spots in the apparatus finals.

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 16-27 July. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Düşlem Gökgöz, EU U-Media Ambassador, Türkiye

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.