Aysel Önder Strikes Hat-Trick Of WR At Espoo 2025
The 2025 Virtus Open European Indoor Athletics Championships began today in Espoo, Finland, bringing together top athletes from 14 countries—Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine. These athletes are competing to prove their strength and skill.
The event is organized by the Finnish Paralympic Committee, with support from the Finnish Athletics Federation and the City of Espoo.
Right from the start, Virtus records were smashed. Two Virtus World records and one championship record fell on the first day.
Winners from II1 women’s 400m. Photo Credit: Tossed
Paris 2024 Silver medallist Aysel Önder, representing Turkey, set a new record in the II1 Women’s 400m by defeating Carina Paim (POR) and Nyan Kang Gai (SWE).
“After the Paralympic Games, this is my first championship and the last indoor indoor championship of the season, so it was very important for me. We focused completely on this particular race and I am going back with a WR and gold medal, like last year,” Aysel told Virtus.
Turkey’s success continued with their II1 Women’s relay team. Aysel Önder joined Reyhon Tasdelen, Fatma Doula Altin, and Esra Bayrak to break another Virtus World record, finishing in 1:44.34 seconds.
Portugal’s Igon Oliveira stole the spotlight in the II1 Men’s 60m race, winning gold and setting a new championship record with a time of 6.92 seconds. He triumphed over Turkey’s Emir Yogi Salci and Sweden’s Joel Reinholdsson.
On the second day, Aysel added her third Virtus World record in the II1 Women’s 200m race, clocking 26.24 seconds. Reyhon Tasdelen put up a strong fight but finished second at 27.65 seconds.
In the teams competition, the Turkish women’s team and Portuguese men’s team took home the trophy.
For full results and more information, visit the Espoo 2025 website.
