Turkey finished fifth in the overall medals table at the Championships in Barcelona, where their other gold medallists were Nevin Yanıt in the 100m hurdles and Alemitu Bekele in the 5,000m. 

Earlier in the year, Bekele had broken Gabriela Szabo's 11-year-old European 5,000m record to establish herself as a contender for success at London in 2012.

"All of our acts aim to work towards a record number of appearances and medals at the 2012 London Olympics," said Youth and Sports General Directorate (GSGM) President Yunus Akgül.

"We believe Turkish sports will peak in the Olympics.

"Our athletes will show the fruits of our works.

"I believe this wholeheartedly."

Akgül picked out the performance of 24-year-old Yanit (pictured) as the highlight of the year.

She won the 100m hurdles in Barcelona in 12.63sec, a Turkish record.

"In athletics, which is accepted as the mother of all sports, the success of our daughter in such a difficult branch as the 100m hurdles is a sign that the future of athletics is bright in Turkey," he said.

The GSGM have allocated a total of TL 7.5 million ($3.1 million/$4.7 million) to help Turkish athletes prepare for London next year.

"We attended the 2008 Beijing Olympics with 16 athletes," said Turkish Athletics Federation President Mehmet Terzi.

"Our athletes who entered the Olympic quotas had risen.

"We want to send at least 25 athletes to London."

Turkish athletes have only ever won a total of four Olympic medals.

Ruhi Sarıalp won a bronze for the triple jump in 1948 - the last time the Olympics were hosted in Olympics - Eşref Apak took ronze for the hammer throw in 2004 and Abeylegesse claimed two silvers for the 5,000m and 10,000m in Beijing in 2008.

Terzi has set a target of four medals at London.

"Once upon a time, we were competing to win only in Balkan or Mediterranean events," he said.

"But now the medals we have won in European and World Championships have raised the bar.

"We know our responsibilities and duties.

"We are now focusing on 2012.

"[We want to win] at least four medals.

"We now have an Olympic squad that comprises 47 athletes.

"We have programmes to bring these athletes to the Olympic threshold [to earn a berth to the games].

"The 47 athletes train in special camps.

"We have agreements with a number of foreign coaches.

"We provide our athletes with the opportunity to work with the best coaches."

The ambitious targets set coincide with the launch of another bid from Istanbul to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. 

Istanbul has already been awarded the 2012 World Indoor Championships and plans to bid for the European version in 2015.

It is also expected to submit bids for the 2016 European Championships and the 2017 World Championships. 

"It is important to host such large events as a candidate to host the Olympics," said Terzi.

"We will see big events in our country."

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