Yiğit Caner Aydın
Turkish world-champion para-archer in the Men's compound bow W1 event.
Yiğit Caner Aydın (born 23 August 1992) is a Turkish world-champion para-archer who competes in the Men's compound bow W1 event.
Aydın was born in Trabzon, northeastern Turkey, and moved to Istanbul with his family at age three. He began developing web projects in 2006 to earn a living, and in 2010 entered the Faculty of Astronomy and Space Science at Istanbul University. He also took part in social responsibility projects aimed at helping children in disadvantaged regions develop their social skills.
In 2013, while sitting in a lounge at a friend’s school, a heavy stand fell on his head, fracturing his neck at the C6 level. He spent six days in intensive care and eight months in hospital. The injury left him paralyzed from the chest down. After two and a half years of physical therapy, he was able to use a wheelchair.
Aydın started para archery in 2016 after meeting para archer Naci Yenier through his father. He trained at the Archery Foundation, using money saved before his accident to buy equipment. With his parents’ support, he trained five to six hours a day. He was selected for the national team, and points from international competitions earned him a spot at the 2017 World Archery Championships in Beijing, China. There, he and two teammates won gold in the Men W1 Open Team event, setting a world record in the 50m event with 1,967 points.
In 2019, at the First Leg of the Para Archery European Cup in Olbia, Sardinia, Italy, he won gold in both the Men W1 Open and Men W1 Open Team events, with the team setting a world record of 215 points. At the 2019 World Para Archery Championships in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, he again won gold in the Men W1 Open Team and repeated the world team record. He became champion in the Men W1 event at the Para-Archery World Ranking Tournament and Final Paralympic Qualification 2021 in Nové Město nad Metují, Czech Republic. At the 2022 World Para Archery Championships in Dubai, he won two gold medals: one in the Men W1 event and one in the Men W1 Doubles event with teammate Nihat Türkmenoğlu. At the 2022 Para-Archery European Championships in Rome, he won silver in the Men W1 and gold in the Men W1 Doubles. One week later, he became champion in the Men W1 event at the 2021 Konya competition.
Aydın currently ranks second in the world.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1992-08-23
- Birth Place
- Trabzon, Turkey
- Years Active
- 2016
- Sport
- Paralympic archery
- Disability
- Paraplegia
- Disability Class
- ARW1
- Event
- Compound bow W1
- Rank
- 2nd (5 September 2022)
- Highest Ranking
- 2nd (5 May 2019)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Yiğit Caner Aydın moved to Istanbul with his family at age three. In 2006 he began developing web projects to earn his living, and in 2010 he entered the Faculty of Astronomy and Space Science at Istanbul University. He participated in social responsibility projects aimed at helping children in disadvantaged regions develop their social skills. In 2013, while sitting in a lounge at his friend's school, a heavy stand fell over his head and fractured his neck at the C6 level. He spent eight months in the hospital following six days of intensive care, became paralyzed from the chest down, and underwent physical therapy for two and a half years before being able to use a wheelchair.
In 2016, Aydın started para archery after meeting para archer Naci Yenier through his father. He trained at the Archery Foundation and used money saved before his accident to buy archery equipment. Supported by his parents, he trained five to six hours a day. He was selected to the national team and collected points at international competitions that enabled him to participate at the World Archery Championships in 2017.
Reader's Guide
Yiğit Caner Aydın's significance lies in his achievements as a world champion para-archer despite a life-altering spinal injury. At the 2017 World Para Archery Championships in Beijing, China, he and two teammates won the gold medal in the Men W1 Open Team event and set a world record in the 50m event with 1,967 points. In 2019, he won gold in the Men W1 Open event and another gold in the Men W1 Open Team event at the First Leg of the Para Archery European Cup in Olbia, Sardinia, Italy, where the Turkish team set a world record with 215 points. That same year, at the World Para Archery Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, he won gold in the Men W1 Open Team and repeated the world team record. In 2021, he became champion in the Men W1 event at the Para-Archery World Ranking Tournament and Final Paralympic Qualification in Nové Město nad Metují, Czech Republic. At the 2022 World Para Archery Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, he won two gold medals: one in the Men W1 event and another in the Men W1 Doubles event with teammate Nihat Türkmenoğlu. He won silver in the Men W1 and gold in the Men W1 Doubles at the 2022 Para-Archery European Championships in Rome, and one week later became champion in the Men W1 event at the 2021 Konya. He currently ranks world second in the world ranking.
Did You Know?
- He was born in Trabzon, northeastern Turkey on 23 August 1992.
- He became paralyzed from the chest down after a heavy stand fell on his head in 2013.
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