Tutya Yilmaz continued making her case for her country’s test event spot with a big win at Turkey’s national championships in Mersin this weekend.

The 16-year-old from Istanbul had a 53.2 in the all-around to defeat Demet Mutlu of Izmir, in second with a 51.9, by over a point. Ekin Morova of Ankara was third with a 51.2.

In addition to her all-around win, Yilmaz had the top scores on vault with a 14.35 and beam with a 12.9, even despite her struggle on the latter. Her score of 12.8 on bars was the second-best there while her 13.15 on floor was third-best.

Mutlu had the best scores on bars with a 13.15 and floor with a 13.45, while her 11.65 on beam was second-best and her 13.65 on vault was third-best. Morova had no top event scores, but was second-best on vault with a 14.0 and floor with a 13.4, putting up great routines on both. She also had a 12.65 for the third-best score on that event, though a fall on beam left her with an 11.15 for fifth.

Ekin Ülvan of Izmir was fourth all-around with a 46.5, Ceyda Akgul of Izmir was fifth with a 46.1, and Beyza Türkmen of Ankara was sixth with a 44.8. Akgul also tied Mutlu for the second-best beam score of 11.65.

In the junior division, young gymnasts from Izmir took the top three spots, with Doga Ozgocmez winning with a 48.7, Iclal Ozbay coming second with a 48.55, and Ilayda Sahin placing third with a 46.3. Ozgocmez had the best scores on vault (13.6) and beam (12.3) while Ozbay was best on bars (10.5) and floor (13.2).

The Turkish Championships were held from March 4 through March 6 in Mersin, Turkey. Full results are available here.

Article by Lauren Hopkins