Kocaeli 2026: the next generation arrives, targeting LA28

Esra Yuce, Nisanur Kocabas, Wiktoria Sobota, Aaliyah Richards and Quinn Austin-Kelly.

For Para swimming followers, these are names worth remembering.

At the World Para Swimming European Championships Kocaeli 2026, they became the latest athletes to continue one of the event's defining traditions: emerging talents announcing themselves on the international stage by winning their first major championship medals.

From a 13-year-old debutant standing on the podium to teenagers leading a new wave of success for their nations, Kocaeli offered a glimpse into the future of European Para swimming.

With the championships held outside a Paralympic year for the first time since 2018, the focus shifted from Games preparation to continental supremacy, making Kocaeli the most significant competition of the season for Europe's athletes. For the sport's rising stars, it was the perfect stage to make their breakthrough.

One of those performances came from Germany’s Kocabas.

“I’m really happy for my medal, and of course I dreamed about it. I hope this is the first of many medals,” she said.

At just 13 years old, Kocabas was the youngest medallist in Kocaeli and the third-youngest athlete competing. She was not even born when the first editions of the European Championships took place in Reykjavik in 2009 and Berlin in 2011. 

Making her debut at a major championships, Kocabas won bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB5. The event was won by her teammate Verena Schott, one of the class’s established stars, who left Turkiye with four medals and three world records. 

“We had a lot of fun in the team and I helped teach them some Turkish words, I think they did really well,” added Kocabas, who had relatives from Turkiye and Germany in the stands.

“And I had my mom and dad here too,” she said, making a heart sign with both hands 🫶. 

The host nation enjoyed its most successful European Championships to date, finishing with nine golds and 16 medals overall.

Two of those medals came from 14-year-old Yuce, who joined S5 star Sevilay Ozturk in one-two podium finishes in the women’s 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly. 

“My life now is about swimming. I started when I was 4 and swimming makes me feel energetic and happy,” Yuce said. 

Competing in front of a large group of supporters at the Gebze Olympic Swimming Pool, she embraced the atmosphere throughout the week. 

“The competition was wonderful. Thank you so much to everyone involved, and that came to support us,” she said. 

“My goal is to be at the 2028 Paralympic Games and win a medal there. Two medals”

Poland also enjoyed a successful week in Turkiye, and one of the nation’s brightest prospects competes in one of Para swimming’s high support need classes. 

S3 swimmer Wiktoria Sobota celebrated her 15th birthday on day three of the European Championships and marked the occasion a day later by winning bronze in the women’s 50m backstroke S3.

“It's amazing, I improved my personal best by over a second, and I don't know if I'm more happy about that or the medal itself,” Sobota said. 

“Actually, I think it's both, because I set my previous personal best less than a month ago, and before that, I couldn't break it for almost a year and a half. Now I managed to shave another second off, and I'm very happy about that.”

One of the youngest athletes in her team, she is now among Poland’s medal hopefuls for future major events.

“I always wanted to play some kind of sport, and I've always loved the water. I used to go to the pool with my dad, he taught me how to swim,” she said. 

“I tried various sports: fencing, table tennis, and then I managed to find a club in Warsaw and started swimming. At first, twice a week, then I went to my first Polish Junior Championships, got hooked, and started going to the pool five-six times a week. And when we were at camps, I even went nine times a week.”

Great Britain also offered a glimpse of the next generation, with two swimmers turning their European Championships debuts into gold. 

The squad in Kocaeli featured established champions as William Ellard alongside emerging S14 talents Quinn Austin-Kelly and Aaliyah Richards. 

Austin-Kelly won gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB14, while Richards topped the podium in the women’s event and added a bronze in the women’s individual medley SM14.

“It’s been fun times so far, really exciting to win medals in my first Europeans,” Richards said.

“Outside of the pool, it was great to get to know my teammates better and the process of how these major championships work. My dream is to break the world record in the breaststroke.”

Among those who understand the impact the European Championships can have on a young athlete's career is Italy's Simone Barlaam, one of the most successful swimmers in the sport.

Looking back on his own breakthrough, Barlaam reflected on the role the event continues to play in developing future champions.

“I was once the newcomer competing in my first Euros in Dublin 2018. Now I see so many young guys coming and this is amazing for the sport,” he said.

“It is becoming more and more competitive, and that can only be positive.”

Head of World Para Swimming Craig Nicholson said Kocaeli 2026 once again highlighted the depth of emerging talent across the continent.

“Before Kocaeli 2026, we said that the European Championships have long been a stage for emerging athletes who later become Paralympic medallists," Nicholson said. "We have seen fantastic debut performances in Turkiye that demonstrate both the depth of talent in Para swimming and the continued development of the sport. We look forward to following the journeys of these emerging athletes over the coming years and seeing them at the LA28 Paralympic Games.”

“Turkiye, in particular, has shown tremendous progress in Para swimming with its best-ever finish at the European Championships, and the impact of Kocaeli 2026 will certainly extend beyond the results table. Major events have the power to create more opportunities for persons with disabilities in sport and leave a lasting legacy.”