Orel Oral

Uğur Orel Oral (born September 26, 1979) is a Turkish former swimmer, who specialized in individual medley events.[1] He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and a seven-time NCAA Division II national champion while studying in the United States. He is also named Swimmer of the Year in Turkey in 2003 and 2004, and holds 15 Turkish records in the same stroke. Oral is a former varsity swimmer for the Indianapolis Greyhounds at the University of Indianapolis under his head coach Gary Kinkead (2000–2004).[2]

Orel Oral
Personal information
Full nameUğur Orel Oral
National team Turkey
Born (1979-09-26) 26 September 1979
İstanbul, Turkey
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesIndividual medley
ClubFenerbahçe Spor Kulübü
College teamUniversity of Indianapolis (U.S.)
CoachGary Kinkead (U.S.)

Oral made his first Turkish team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Swimming in heat two of the men's 200 m individual medley, he picked up a seventh seed and forty-eighth overall by 0.51 of a second behind Hong Kong's Alex Fong in 2:09.51.[3]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Oral qualified again for the 200 m individual medley, by eclipsing a FINA B-standard entry time of 2:07.09 from the USA National Championships in College Park, Maryland.[4] He challenged six other swimmers on the second heat, including Olympic veteran Oleg Pukhnatiy of Uzbekistan. He rounded out the field to last place by 0.12 of a second behind Chinese Taipei's Wu Nien-pin in 2:08.84. Oral failed to advance into the semifinals, as he matched a forty-fifth place tie with Puerto Rico's Jorge Oliver in the preliminaries.[5][6]

Two months after his second Olympics, Oral posted his lifetime best and a Turkish record of 55.31 to pull off an eighth-place finish in the 100 m individual medley at the 2004 FINA World Short Course Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.[7]

In 2012, Oral was inducted into the University of Indianapolis Hall of Fame for his enormous success and full-time dedication in collegiate swimming. He is currently working as an assistant coach for the same swimming team.[2]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Orel Oral". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  2. "Hall of Fame adds new members". University of Indianapolis. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  3. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 307. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. "Swimming – Men's 200m Individual Medley Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  5. "Men's 200m Individual Medley Heat 2". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  6. Thomas, Stephen (18 August 2004). "Men's 200 Individual Medley, Day 5 Prelims: Laszlo Cseh Clocks Swift 1:59.50, Leads Michael Phelps into Semis". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  7. "Short Course World Champs, Day 4: Rupprath Continues His Fine Form, Dominating 100 IM Semifinals". Swimming World Magazine. 10 October 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2013.


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