Şevval İlayda Tarhan (born 4 February 2000) is a Turkish national shooter specializing in the 10 metre air pistol discipline. Tarhan made history in Turkish shooting by winning the world championship in the junior category in 2018, and she was part of the team that secured Türkiye’s first Olympic medal in this discipline by winning silver at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Şevval İlayda Tarhan (AA)

Early Life and Entry into Sport

Şevval İlayda Tarhan was born on 4 February 2000. Her early career planning was shaped by the intersection of personal interests and professional sport. From childhood, Tarhan exhibited a professional inclination toward military and security services, expressing her fascination with uniforms and discipline as early as primary school.^【1】

Her technical training and sporting career began under the guidance of her mother, who envisioned this path as preparation for a future career in the military or police force.^【2】

What began as a hobby and professional preparation gained professional status when her coaches recognized her technical proficiency. Throughout this period, Tarhan simultaneously pursued her academic education and athletic training. Never abandoning her original career goals, she later integrated her sporting achievements into a professional path that aligned with her military and police ideals. Drawing inspiration from successful shooters serving in the military, such as Yusuf Dikeç, she shaped her career strategy from this perspective.

Şevval İlayda Tarhan (AA)

Education and Club Career

Şevval İlayda Tarhan has pursued her academic education in coordination with her high-performance sporting career. Demonstrating a disciplined approach to her studies, she adhered to a strategy of balancing both domains despite advice from her surroundings to prioritize academics over sport. While acknowledging her strong academic performance, Tarhan analyzed that fields with high laboratory and clinical demands, such as dentistry, would conflict physically and temporally with her international shooting competition schedule (including overseas events and training camps). Accordingly, she chose academic paths compatible with and supportive of her professional sporting career.^【3】

The athlete is registered under a Mersin-based license. She conducts her professional training under the umbrella of the Dikeç Olympic Shooting Club, based in Ankara. Her technical preparation is overseen by coach İlknur Yılmaz, and her competition performances are registered in the Turkish Shooting Federation (TAF) database under license number 10171. Her club activities are structured into technical and tactical training cycles covering both 10 metre air pistol and firearms disciplines.^【4】

International Achievements and Technical Development

Şevval İlayda Tarhan’s international competition record reflects a chronological progression from early successes in junior categories and record-breaking performances to winning an Olympic medal in the senior category.

Junior Category and World Record Period (2018–2019)

Tarhan achieved her first major international success at the 52nd ISSF World Shooting Championships held in Changwon, South Korea, in 2018. Competing in the junior women’s 10 metre air pistol event, she scored 237.9 points in the final to become world champion. This result marked Türkiye’s first-ever gold medal in this category in national shooting history. Her score also became a technical benchmark in the record books.

In 2019, competing at the European 10m Air Pistol Championship in Croatia, Tarhan equaled the European junior record and won gold in the junior category. These achievements confirmed her technical capacity to compete at international standards.

Yusuf Dikeç-Şevval İlayda Tarhan duo reached European championship (AA)

Team Dynamics and European Records (2022–2024)

During her transition to the senior category, Tarhan achieved significant results in team and mixed team configurations:

• European Record (2022): At the European Championship in Hamar, Norway, she competed as part of the women’s team alongside Elif Beyza Aşık and Seher Tokmak. The team scored a total of 861 points, setting a new European record.
• World Cup Medal (2022): At the ISSF World Cup event in Baku, Azerbaijan, she won bronze in the mixed team event alongside Yusuf Dikeç.

2025 European Championship and Double Gold Medal

The year 2025 marked a period of technical maturity in Tarhan’s career. At the European Air Gun Championship in Osijek, Croatia, she reached the top of two different categories within two consecutive days:

The historic Turkish female shooter: Şevval İlayda Tarhan (AA)

1. Individual Category: In the women’s 10 metre air pistol final, she delivered an outstanding performance to win the European individual title.
2. Mixed Team Category: Partnering with Yusuf Dikeç, her team faced Czech representatives Viktorie Sindlerova and Pavel Schejbal in the final. Tarhan and Dikeç defeated their opponents 16–14 to claim the gold medal. This victory marked Türkiye’s first-ever European championship title in this category.

Şevval İlayda Tarhan: International Competition Performance Table;