– Shooting and the obstacle course are my favorite events, says Esma.
She is reluctant to name her best event – the results after this week will establish which one it is.
Esma Batur is a first year cadet of the Turkish Air Force Academy in Istanbul. She has been practicing aeronautical pentathlon since she enrolled in the Air Force Academy ten months ago. She has previously competed in fencing, but this is the first time she does a complete pentathlon event.
After finishing high school the choice of a military career was an easy one. There are many officers in Esma’s family and she herself wanted to serve her country.
– The training to become an officer is very demanding, but I feel I can make it, Esma says.
She has soon completed the first of four years at the Academy. After the fourth year she will undergo medical and written tests. If she does well she will be admitted to pilot training.
– Of course I would like to become a pilot, but that wasn’t the main reason for applying to the Academy. There are a number of interesting career choices, she adds.
The event she looks forward to most is the second part of the escape event – orienteering. All of the other events are somewhat predictable as to how they are carried out. For the orienteering, the competitors step on a bus and are driven to a forest location unknown to them.
– You don’t really know how it’s going to be which is the part I like, says Esma.
The Championships in Uppsala is Esma Batur’s first visit to Sweden. She will be competing individually in the reserve’s contest along with the only other female athlete who comes from Norway.
– I’m excited to be one of the first women in this sport to date, and I hope more will follow, Esma Batur concludes.