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Türkiye at the 2026 Europeans: Team Titles and 22 MedalsSix golds, four silvers and 12 bronzes, with Türkiye topping the team standings in both taekwondo and Para taekwondo.
Türkiye finished the European Taekwondo and Para Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Germany, with 22 medals. Competition ran from 11 to 14 May 2026 at BMW Park, bringing senior taekwondo and Para events together over four days. On 15 May, the Minister of Youth and Sports congratulated both Turkish national teams on their results and a third consecutive European team title.
The total comprised eight medals in taekwondo and 14 in Para taekwondo. The figure of 22 therefore covers the two teams together. Each discipline has its own standings and individual results by weight category: team rankings reflect the athletes’ combined performances, while each final decides the champion in a particular weight class.
The taekwondo competition area at the Grand Palais during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Illustrative archive photograph.
Türkiye’s Medal Haul in NumbersTürkiye sent 36 athletes: 16 in taekwondo and 20 in Para taekwondo. The table separates their medal totals after competition ended on 14 May, making it clear which team contributed each figure.
| Discipline |  Gold |  Silver |  Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taekwondo | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Para taekwondo | 3 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| Türkiye total | 6 | 4 | 12 | 22 |
Three Taekwondo GoldsBerkay Erer opened Türkiye’s gold-medal account on 11 May in the men’s 68kg division. He defeated Ukraine’s Volodymyr Bystrov in the final, having progressed past opponents from Moldova, Israel, Greece and Italy. The results bracket records a two-rounds-to-none victory in the final.
Erer studies Coaching Education in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Haliç University, which announced his Munich title. That adds another dimension to his profile: a national-team athlete continuing his university education while winning a senior European championship in May 2026.
On the second day, 12 May, Merve Dinçel Kavurat won women’s 53kg gold by defeating Bulgaria’s Erika Karabelava in the final. On the closing day, 14 May, Elif Sude Akgül won women’s 49kg gold after beating Spain’s Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in the semifinal and Serbia’s Andrea Bokan in the final.
The taekwondo tally was completed by silver medals for Emine Göğebakan at 46kg and Sude Yaren Uzunçavdar at 73kg, plus bronzes for Hatice Kübra İlgün at 57kg, Nafia Kuş Aydın at over 73kg, and Enes Kaplan at 58kg. These eight medallists accounted for the national team’s individual medals in this discipline.
A group of taekwondo practitioners in a school hall. Illustrative archive photograph from 2023.
Para Taekwondo: 14 Medals, Including Three GoldsTürkiye won two Para golds on 12 May. Mahmut Bozteke took the 63kg title after defeating Adnan Milad in the final, while Gamze Özcan won at 57kg against France’s Sophie Caverzan. Tuana Çelik took bronze in the same weight category, and Meryem Betül Çavdar won 52kg silver behind Georgia’s Ana Japaridze.
Yusuf Yünaçtı added the third Para gold on 13 May at 70kg, defeating Azerbaijan’s Imamaddin Khalilov in the final. Nurcihan Ekinci Gül had already won 47kg silver on the opening day, when Büşra Emire took bronze in the same division and Ali Can Özcan and Hamza Tarhan both won 58kg bronzes.
The other Para bronze medallists were Zehra Orhan at 65kg, Fatma Nur Yoldaş at over 65kg, Emre Bulgur at 80kg, and Adem Arda Özkul and Osman Ertürk at over 80kg. Together, these results complete the team’s three golds, two silvers and nine bronzes. Including the weight categories distinguishes the multiple Turkish results within the same competition.
Team Success Also Includes the Women’s and Para StandingsTürkiye topped the overall taekwondo standings for the third consecutive time, following their successes in 2022 and 2024. Munich brought their ninth team title in the history of the European Championships, whose 27th edition was held in 2026. The Turkish women’s taekwondo team also finished first in its team standings.
In Para taekwondo, Türkiye led the overall standings as well as the men’s and women’s team rankings. These results involve distinct measures of success: individual medals by weight, men’s or women’s team standings, and the overall team ranking. Keeping them separate explains the achievements in Munich without counting team titles as additional individual medals.
An archive taekwondo demonstration in South Korea in 2005. It does not depict the Munich championships or members of the Turkish national team.
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