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Berke Akçam

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Berke Akçam
Personal information
NationalityTurkish
Born10 April 2002 (2002-04-10) (age 23)
Bursa, Turkey
Alma materBursa Uludağ University
Sport
CountryTurkey
SportAthletics
Event(s)400 metres hurdles, 400 m, 4×400 m relay
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • 400 m: 46.46 (2021)
  • 400 m (indoor): 46.22 (2024)
  • 400 m hurdles: 48.14 (2024)
Medal record
Summer World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Chengdu 4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2025 Chengdu 400 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2025 Rhine-Ruhr 4 × 400 m relay
European Athletics U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Espoo 400 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place 2023 Espoo 4×400 m relay
World U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Nairobi 400 m hurdles
European Athletics U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Borås 4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2021 Tallinn 400 m hurdles
Balkan Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Cluj-Napoca 400 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2020 Cluj-Napoca 4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2023 İzmir 400 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place 2023 Kraljevo 400 m hurdles

Berke Akçam (born 10 April 2002) is a Turkish track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles and sprint events.[1] He became the **2021 World Athletics U20 champion** in the 400 metres hurdles, winning Turkey's first-ever world title in this event.[2] He is also a double Universiade gold medalist, having won in 2023 (4×400 m relay) and 2025 (400 m hurdles).[3][4]

Career

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Akçam began athletics in his early teens, focusing on sprint and hurdles events.[1] He first represented Turkey at the 2018 European Athletics U18 Championships, where he placed seventh in the 400 m hurdles.

In 2019, he won gold with the Turkish 4 × 400 m relay at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Borås, Sweden. He also took bronze in the 400 m hurdles at the 2019 European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan.[5]

In 2020, Akçam won gold in the 400 m hurdles and the 4 × 400 m relay at the Balkan Athletics Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.[6]

In 2021, he became the European U20 champion in the 400 m hurdles in Tallinn, Estonia, and later that year, won the gold medal in the 400 m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, setting a Turkish U20 record of 49.38 seconds.[1][7]

At senior level, he competed at the 2021 European Indoor Championships and the 2021 World Athletics Relays. In 2023, Akçam set a Turkish national record (3:09.41) in the 4 × 400 m relay at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, finishing sixth.[8]

That same year, he won double silver at the European U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland: in the 400 m hurdles (49.48 s) and with the Turkish 4 × 400 m relay team.[9] He also won silver at the 2023 Balkan Athletics Championships in the 400 m hurdles and gold with the Turkish relay.

At the postponed 2021 Summer World University Games in Chengdu (held in August 2023), Akçam placed fourth in the 400 m hurdles and won gold in the men's 4 × 400 m relay.[10]

In 2024, he won the Balkan Indoor Championships in the 400 m and relay, and took silver in the 400 m hurdles at the U23 Mediterranean Championships in Ismailia. At the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, he placed fifth in the 400 m hurdles final with a new personal best of 48.14 seconds.[11]

He represented Turkey at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, reaching the semifinals in the men's 400 metres hurdles.[1]

Akçam has also won multiple Turkish national titles in the 400 m hurdles and the 400 m indoor.[1]

Achievements

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  • World Athletics U20 Championships
    • Gold: 400 m hurdles, 2021 (Nairobi)
  • Summer World University Games
    • Gold: 4 × 400 m relay, 2021 (Chengdu, held 2023)
  • European Athletics U23 Championships
    • Silver: 400 m hurdles, 2023 (Espoo)
    • Silver: 4 × 400 m relay, 2023 (Espoo)
  • European Athletics U20 Championships
    • Gold: 4 × 400 m relay, 2019 (Borås)
    • Gold: 400 m hurdles, 2021 (Tallinn)
  • Balkan Athletics Championships
    • Multiple medals in 400 m hurdles and relays
  • National Championships
    • Turkish champion in 400 m hurdles (2020, 2021)
    • Turkish indoor champion in 400 m (2021, 2023, 2024)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Berke Akçam – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Berke Akçam wins Turkey's first-ever gold in 400m hurdles at U20 Worlds". Eurosport. 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Athletics relay roundup: Turkey grab gold in men's 4x400m". FISU. 6 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Berke Akçam'dan altın madalya". TRT Spor. 26 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Berke Akçam'dan Bakü'de bronz madalya". TMOK. 26 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Balkan Şampiyonası'nda 20 madalya". Türkiye Atletizm Federasyonu. 20 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Berke Akçam wins Turkey's first-ever gold in 400m hurdles at U20 Worlds". Eurosport. 22 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Avrupa Salon Şampiyonası İstanbul'da başladı". Türkiye Atletizm Federasyonu. 2 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Nezir leads Turkish one-two in 400m hurdles in Espoo". European Athletics. 16 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Athletics relay roundup: Turkey grab gold in men's 4x400m". FISU. 6 August 2023.
  11. ^ "European Athletics Championships 2024: Results". European Athletics. 10 June 2024.
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