Dondu Yesilyurt

Started: She took up Para judo in 2017. "I started judo in my senior year at university. In 2017, the year I started, I received a medal in the Turkish championship and joined the national team." (aa.com.tr, 21 Feb 2024, 14 Jan 2019) Reason: She was introduced to judo by her weightlifting coach. She switched sports on the advice of her friends. "I was strong and people around me always tried to talk me into taking up sports. I finally decided to do arm wrestling and started checking associations for visually impaired for any sports club I could enrol in. They referred me to a weightlifting coach. He saw my strength and said that I could do well in Turkiye and started training me. I won the top Turkish title in 2017 and my trainer also suggested training for judo, seeing how strong my physique was. After one month of training, I signed up for the Turkish judo championship for visually impaired." (aa.com.tr, 21 Feb 2024, 14 Jan 2019; dailysabah.com, 22 Jan 2019) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (aa.com.tr, 21 Feb 2024) Additional Info: OCCUPATION She has worked for the Ankara Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate in Turkiye. "Judo changed my life a lot. It affected me both in terms of education and career. It enabled me to get a job professionally [at the Ankara Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate]. Most importantly, it helped me be more self-confident and more enterprising in life. It gave me the confidence that even though I am visually impaired, it is not a disadvantage." (aa.com.tr, 21 Feb 2024)