The Turkish Junior and Senior National Team Selection Championships started Thursday in Edirne, Turkey, where Stefano Nurra, who died on August 4th in Turkey, was honored. The meet has been dedicated, and titled, in memory of the Italian analyst, coach, and biomechanist.
The meet has been officially named “Stefano Nurra Anisina Türkiye Yildiz-Genç Ve Açik Yaş Uzun Kulvar Milli Takim Seçmesi,” which translate roughly to the Steffano Nurra Turkish Youth and Open Age Long Course National Team Selection meet.
Nurra, 52 at the time of his death, was working for the Turkish Swimming Federation at the time of his death. He was also a regular contributor to SwimSwam.
Nurra was diagnosed with Leukemia a week before his death and succumbed to the disease after a brief battle.
A native of the island of Sardinia, Nurra worked with swimmers around the world as a biomechanist. His most recent appointments include as a technical expert with the Turkish Swimming Federation and contributed to that country breaking dozens of National Records in the last two years.
He also worked with star athletes individually, including Italian Record holder and 2022 World Champion in the 100 breaststroke Benedetta Pilato.
Nurra also created the SwimLab brand and built a community of technical swimming analysts around the world to grow the field and share insights.
The meet started with some excitement when 15-year-old Kuzey Tuncelli swam 14:56.67. That made him the youngest swimmer ever under 15 minutes in the event and making him the fastest 15-year-old ever in the event by more than 18 seconds.
