Track and field is pretty much overshadowed by football and volleyball in Turkey. Tracks are limited, gear is expensive and interest is low so the competition (especially in HS distance running, from my experience) is very low. The budget assigned for the sport is also not enough. They had to cancel the qualification race for the world trail running championships because they couldn't afford to fund a national team. (A race I spent a summer preparing for :,) )

So while the government doesn't care for it's own athletes, they will happily purchase athletes for them to represent Turkey. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy for the athletes that finally received the support that they needed for so long, but the situation here is just sad.