Thinking Migration and Nationhood in the Realm of Sports: Migrant Track and Field Athletes in Turkey During the 2016 Event Cycle

Year 2023, Issue: Özel Sayı, 74 - 89, 10.08.2023

Yavuz Yavuz

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the link between sports and migration in the context of how migrant athletes are perceived in terms of bringing about a reimagining of ethnicity and nationhood. Sporting migration is increasingly discussed within the framework of the debates concerning the economic premises of the understanding of postCold War migration and human mobilities in general. These include both the discussions revolving around the so-called “pull factors” of migration and the deriving of gains obtained through sporting success. In this article, the author aims to contribute to the opening of a discussion on the economic, as well as political and cultural consequences of sporting migration. In order to do that, a focus on the public debates, particularly in the related media output, revolving around the migrant athletes who competed for Turkey at the track and field events of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2016 European Athletics Championships. Through this, the author also discusses how the nationhood in Turkey is brought into question within the context of migrant athletes competing and obtaining honours for Turkey.

Keywords

Sports Migration, National İdentity, Citizenship, Turkey.

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