Cypriot Olympian Savaskan welcomed home by Turkish Cypriot leaders

Turkish Cypriot Olympic high jumper Buse Savaskan was welcomed back to Cyprus by both Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and the north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel on Thursday evening.

She met with Tatar at his official residence in Nicosia’s old town, with Tatar saying she had been an “inspiration to our young people” and said the Turkish Cypriot people were immensely proud of her.

He also congratulated Savaskan’s coach and family, while wishing her success for the future.

Savaskan thanked Tatar for his support and said she hopes to pass on her achievements to future generations.

Later on Thursday evening, Savaskan met with Ustel, with Ustel saying he hoped Savaskan’s success would help promote the north on the world stage.

“Hopefully the world will recognise us and we will see our young people waving our flag at those levels. That will be our greatest honour. We are very happy that the Republic of Turkey took you on and allowed you to compete … We would like to thank Turkey very much,” he said.

He went on to say that Savaskan’s success would “motivate” Turkish Cypriot young people.

“We did our part as a state to ensure that Buse reached these points, but first Buse’s work, and then everyone who believed in her, had a big share in her reaching this level,” he added.

Savaskan told Ustel she has reached highs of the Olympics with the support she has received to this point, and that she will continue to work to achieve bigger goals in the future.

She added that her aim is to win a medal at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.