Turkish athlete hits back at cyberbullying

ISTANBUL

The youngest ever Turkish gymnast to join the Olympics has hit back at comments made about her body on social media.

Tutya Yılmaz, a 19-year-old successful gymnast, gave a harsh response to people describing her body as “too muscular” on social media.

“I have some things to say as a young woman. Today, I planned to caption this photo with something else but I changed my mind when I saw a tactless reply,” Yılmaz said.

“I am an athlete, and because of my branch, my body is more muscular compared to a normal individual! This is something I occasionally fixate on. I even do not post photos in which I look too muscular,” she added.

Yılmaz also expressed her hesitation before posting the said photo, saying she took the opinions of some of her friends, saying it is a “normal” thing to do.

“Because, even though I say I do not obsess over this, it can be heartbreaking from time to time since I am only human,” she added.

Yılmaz said she has vowed to not care about anything people say.

“This is a very precious promise I made to myself,” she said.

“This is who I am and this is the way I love myself. What you call ‘muscle-bound’ is my 16 year of efforts, sweat, tears and many other things that I cannot write,” she added.

“What you try to belittle by describing as ‘muscle-bound’ is my success story. I do not care what people say or think about my body. Because I love myself and respect my efforts,” Yılmaz stressed.

The successful athlete also stressed that many youngsters see her as a role model. She wants to remind them of “the importance of self-confidence, self-love and not caring about what anyone else thinks.”

Yılmaz became the youngest gymnast to qualify to join the Olympics in Turkey’s gymnastics history when she competed in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

She was referred to as a “chance for Turkey” by Nadia Comaneci, the first woman to score a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastics event when she was 14.

“Love yourselves. Because if you love yourself, you will love everything,” Yılmaz said.