Turkey: Marathon runner dazzles viewers on TV

By Orhan Fatih Dogan

USAK, Turkey (AA) - Ultra marathon runner Akin Yeniceli, who was discovered as an athlete while running with shepherd's dogs and farm tractors in his village in Usak, western Turkey, dazzled viewers on Turkish TV with his funny memories.

Yeniceli attended Turkey's Who Wants to be A Millionaire show and talked about his way to success in running, which was filled with funny memories. The video clip of the contest was shared on social media and went viral, being viewed by millions.

In his daily life, Yeniceli is a shepherd, attending to his sheep and his farm, but he also runs marathons.

Yeniceli wakes up early every morning and runs 25-30 kilometers every day, and then attends to his farm. He lives in a small village, but sometimes runs tens of kilometers just to have breakfast in another city.

He has golden medals from over 100 marathons, national and international. He also came first in a 64-km marathon in Germany. He ran to the capital Ankara from Usak as well, to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who accorded him a warm welcome.

"Attending this contest, speaking on TV was a very good experience for me. People sent really nice messages after getting to know me. We all need morale in these tough days, with everything that's going on with the coronavirus outbreak," Yeniceli said.

"If I could win the big prize in this contest, I would have bought a sheep and a lamb. I couldn't win the big prize, but maybe one day," he added

*Writing by Firdevs Bulut