Mustafa Akyavaş is a lucky man.
Always smiling, always with both feet on the ground, always ready to listen.
In short, he has the skills of a successful coach.
If tomorrow morning Meryem Bekmez (TUR) were to repeat the success achieved by Ayse Tekdal in the U23, for the head coach of race walk in Turkey these two championships in Sweden would represent the continuation of an unimaginable reality a few years ago.
We met Mustafa Akyavaş in Turkey in Izmir in August 2014 on the occasion of a European Master Championship and approached us explaining his interest in race walk and talking passionately about his group of young athletes he was cultivating.
He told us about Meryem Bekmez who at the time was just fourteen and told us that he thought he would become a successful athlete.
Mustafa you had seen right !
In the last three years, the young Turkish athlete has been a star in the European and World youth scene.
Winning in Tbilisi (GEO) in 2016 at the U18 European Championships, silver in 2017 in Nairobi (KEN) at the U18 World Championships and bronze five days after in Grosseto (ITA) in the U20 European Championships on double distance (10.000m track walk). Finally silver again in Tampere (FIN) in 2018 at the World U20 Championships.
Now she is the undisputed candidate for victory for her last U20 European Championships.
But Turkey today is not only Meryem Bekmez.
In women, Ayşe Tekdal (1999) also made a big leap in quality this year, which in Gavle (SWE) brilliantly won the U23 European Championship.
In the men stands the star of Salih Korkmaz, silver in Gavle in the U23 European Championships after a dramatic ending with Vasiliy Mizinov (ANA). Even Korkmaz already has in his basket an important medal, the bronze won in 2018 at the U20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz (POL).
Seven medals in as many youth competitions in the last three years: a nice booty to envy.
And tomorrow is another day.
Good luck Mustafa, continue in your work, but remember to make hay while the Sun shines.