The Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) successfully concluded the 1st Science Days, held on 13–14 November at the Turkish Olympic House. The two-day programme brought together leading experts from Türkiye and Europe in the field of sports sciences, offering significant insights into athlete performance, psychology, physiology, nutrition, training science, and collaboration between academia and the sports field.

In his opening speech, TOC President Ahmet Gülüm emphasized that science is an indispensable component of sport: “Sustainable success is impossible unless we bring the worlds of science and sport together. As TOC, we are committed to placing science at the centre of sport.”

Reflecting on his own journey, Gülüm added: “I started volleyball at the age of 10.5 and spent my entire life as an athlete. It was only after retiring that I began to understand what sports culture truly means. When sports in Türkiye are managed by structures disconnected from science, scholars and the field cannot hear each other. If we fail to bridge this gap, we cannot carry our country—one of Europe’s biggest investors in sport—to the level we aspire to.”

TOC Science Commission Chair Prof. Dr. Aysel Pehlivan described the event as a “laboratory of ideas” for Turkish sport: “Olympic success is not only about physical performance; it requires the integration of psychological, sociological, physiological, and biomechanical factors. Science Days mark the beginning of this holistic approach.”

Over the course of the event, more than 20 expert speakers and over 300 participants attended more than 20 sessions covering a wide range of sports science disciplines.

TOC aims to establish Science Days as an annual event to ensure that the latest developments in sports sciences continue to illuminate the future of Turkish sport.