Elis Özbay
Elis Özbay (born 24 July 2001) is a Turkish rower who competes in lightweight single and double sculls. She is 1.73 meters tall and studies logistics management at Yeditepe University. In her youth she played volleyball for five years before a physical education teacher encouraged her to try rowing, and she joined Fenerbahçe Rowing Club. The club helped her development by providing a high-cost carbon fiber racing shell after she found the sport demanding on her hands.
Özbay competes mainly in lightweight events (LW1x and LW2x). Her achievements include a bronze at the 2021 World Rowing Cup in Zagreb (LW1x); gold at the 2021 World Rowing U23 Championships in Račice (LW2x); gold at the 2021 European Rowing U23 Championships in Kruszwica (BLW2x); silver at the 2022 World Rowing U23 Championships in Varese (LW1x); gold at the 2022 European Rowing U23 Championships in Heindonk (BLW1x); and gold at the 2022 European Universities Championships in Istanbul (LW1x). She won silver at the 2023 Croatia Open in Zagreb (SWA1x), finished 26th at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade (Final E), and won gold at the 2023 World Rowing U23 Championships in Plovdiv (LW1x). She earned bronze at the 2024 Croatia Open in Zagreb and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Turkish female rower to reach the Olympic Games.
Elis Özbay is the daughter of Efsun and Salih Özbay. She continues her studies in logistics management at Yeditepe University.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:19 (CET).