Sevda Altunoluk

Started: She began playing goalball at age 14. (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016) Reason: "When my vision started deteriorating in primary school, I went to see a doctor. He said he can keep it under control if I study in a school for visually impaired children, so I enrolled in that school. My classmates told me about goalball and asked me to play. At first my parents disapproved because I took it too seriously. I was furious every time I failed, so I was working hard to succeed. To show people that I can play a sport." (bbc.com, 09 Dec 2021; Athlete, 01 Apr 2016) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 18 Apr 2024) Milestones: She became the first female Turkish goalball player to win more than one medal at the Paralympic Games after she was part of the team that claimed gold at both the 2016 and 2020 Games. She was the only member of the Turkiye women's team to be part of the squad in both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: She was named Female Sportsperson of the Year at the 2023 National Team Unstoppable Awards in Turkiye. (Turkiye Gorme Engelliler Spor Federasyonu Facebook page, 05 May 2023) She was included in the BBC's 100 Influential Women of the Year for 2021. (paralympic.org, 18 Jan 2023; bbc.com, 09 Dec 2021) She was named the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] Athlete of the Month for June 2018. (yenimahalle.bel.tr, 01 Jan 2019; ibsasport.org, 10 Jul 2018) Additional Info: FAMILY SPORT Her sister Sevtap also represents Turkiye in goalball. Both sisters were part of the team that won gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "Playing with her makes me happy. We train together and, although we disagree on some issues, we get along very well. We both have a competitive spirit and we motivate each other by giving speeches. We don't have any problems during a match. We have been playing for the same club since Sevtap started playing sports and we've never played against each other. If that happened, we would have to be professional." (paralympic.org, 18 Jan 2023) OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2022 she was elected president of the athletes' council of the Turkish National Paralympic Committee [TMPK]. (yenimahalle.bel.tr, 20 Dec 2022; aa.com.tr, 12 Dec 2022)

Sporting Relatives: Her younger sister Sevtap has represented Turkiye in goalball and was part of the team that won gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (paralympic.org, 18 Jan 2023; haberler.com, 27 Sep 2018)