Fatma Uruk (b. 1988, İzmir) is a Turkish national free diving athlete and multiple world record holder. Beginning her free diving career at a young age, she has won numerous national and international championships and set world records and won gold medals at competitions held in Mexico and Egypt.

She was born in İzmir in 1988. During her childhood summers, she spent time at a tent camp in Seferihisar, where her interest in the sea and the underwater world began at an exceptionally early age. Her first diving experiences came from observing migrant fishermen in the area and experimenting on her own with basic techniques such as ear equalization. Watching a documentary about world free diving record holder Yasemin Dalkılıç at a young age further fueled her curiosity about the sport and inspired her to take Dalkılıç as her role model.

She completed her education at Middle East Technical University (METU) in the Department of Economics. Her decision to attend METU was directly influenced by the university’s free diving club. She began her university studies in 2006 and graduated in 2013.

^{Fatma Uruk, 2026 (AA)}

Upon starting university, she formally began training and at age 18 began competing at a professional level in free diving. She placed second in her first national competition. Despite having no prior sports background, she earned her first national team selection at age 18 as the sole and youngest athlete to qualify. Her third-place finish at the 2008 Turkish Championship earned her a spot on the national team. Since then, she has consistently represented Türkiye in international competitions. She has received strong support from her club at METU and her teammates throughout her career development.

In 2015, during a running training session, she suffered a fall and lost consciousness, sustaining a serious head injury. As a result of this accident, she lost her sense of taste and smell and began living with chronic vertigo. Due to her vertigo condition, she adopts a cautious approach in her diving career, gradually increasing her target depths within her personal limits while strictly adhering to safety protocols.

In March 2020, Fatma Uruk traveled to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula to attempt world records. Under the rules of the International Federation for Underwater Activities (CMAS), these attempts were conducted in the “fresh water” discipline within cenotes—natural sinkholes and caves—and were recorded as the first-ever world record attempts in cenotes in both world and Turkish history.

Originally planned as a five-week trip based on leave granted by her employer, the journey turned into an eight-month mandatory stay after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of international flights. She spent the quarantine period in a village house with no internet access. Unable to train in the sea or pools, she maintained her fitness through land-based exercises using watermelons and water jugs as weights.

In November 2020, following a demanding training camp, she set multiple world records in succession within three days.

• In the “Variable Weight No Fins” category, she reached a depth of 72 meters, breaking the previous world record of 70 meters held by Derya Can.
• In the “Fixed Weight with Double Fins” category, she first dived to 67 meters, tying the record held by Russian athlete Olga Davydova.
• She soon improved her own record in the same discipline, first reaching 72 meters and then 77 meters. The 77-meter depth achieved is equivalent to the men’s world record in the fixed weight with double fins category.

^{CMAS Dünya Kupası (AA)}

Following her world record attempts in Mexico, Uruk continued competing in international events and achieved a historic success at the CMAS International Diving World Cup held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, which featured participation from nine countries. Under the supervision of the CMAS Federation and WADA, she competed in four different disciplines over four separate days at age 38.

In the depth competitions, she achieved the following depths:

• 71 meters in the Monofin (CWT) discipline,
• 70 meters in the Free Immersion (FIM) discipline,
• 68 meters in the Double Fins (CWTBF) discipline,
• 40 meters in the No Fins (CNF) discipline.

Uruk finished first in three of the four events she entered and fifth in the other, becoming the only athlete in the competition to achieve successful results in all disciplines. With a total of 249 points in the overall classification, she won the World Cup title in the women’s category.

^{Fatma Uruk, İstanbul Akvaryum (AA)}

In addition to her free diving career, she works full-time in the banking sector and integrates her athletic life seamlessly with her professional career. For much of her sporting career, she covered her training and competition expenses from her personal budget. Following her world record achievements, she began receiving structural support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and institutions such as Istanbul Aquarium as primary sponsors.

In her diving philosophy, she places central importance on mental resilience and mental training. She isolates her emotions underwater, lowers her heart rate, and employs a strategy of completely emptying her mind of external stimuli. The athlete emphasizes that discipline, determination, perseverance, and willpower are the greatest factors behind her achievements, rather than fear.

She actively participates in civil society organizations and volunteers in youth projects. Outside of sports, she reads extensively in psychology, world history, and cinema, and continues to engage in physical and artistic activities such as nature adventures, climbing, and dance. Her future goals include breaking all Turkish free diving records, competing in events held in Kaş—the elite diving hub in Türkiye—and conducting dives in Turkey’s major inland waters such as Salda Lake and Lake Van.