He won two gold medals, in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events, at the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships held in Rieti, Italy. In the 10,000 m event, he set a new Turkish national record with a time of 28:31.16. He caused a scandal following the race when he abruptly left the championship for Kenya without showing up at the medal ceremony. Another Turkish athlete stood on the championship podium in Italy to receive his medal. According to the Turkish Athletics Federation, he travelled to Kenya in order to join a four-day training session in Kenya with his fellow countryman and naturalized Turk İlham Tanui Özbilen.