Döndü Yeşilyurt (born 20 December 1993) is a Turkish world and European champion female

visually impaired Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

competing in the −57 kg division. She is also a national para weightlifter.

Sport career

While in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

for university study, Yeşilyurt decided to perform arm wrestling. For this reason, she searched for organizations serving visually impaired people unaware of knowing about the sport clubs specialized for disabled people. In 2016, a weightlifting coach for visually impaired sportspeople she met, recommanded her to start weightlifting sport. She had a strong physical body structure she had developed şn village life. Already in 2017, she became Turkish champion. This time, her coach encouraged her for judo, and she performed both weightlifting and judo. In February 2017, she became the runner-up at the Turkish Para Judo Championship. She was then admitted to the Turkey national para judo team. A few months later that year, she debuted internationally at a tournament in Latvia winning her first medal as runner-up. At the 2018 IBSA Powerlifting and Bench Press World Championships in

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

, Egypt, she took gold medal in

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

and the silver medal in

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

. In 2022, she became world champion at the IBSA Judo World Championship in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Azerbaijan. At the

2023 European Para Championships The 2023 European Para Championships were the first edition of the European Para Championships held between 8 and 20 August 2023 in Rotterdam, Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdi ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands, she won the gold medal in the −57 Ü J1 event.

Personal life

Döndü Yeşilyurt was born at Kızlar village of

Alaçam Alaçam is a central town of Alaçam district of Samsun Province of Turkey. Scholars believe that Alaçam is the site of the ancient city of Zaliche or Zaliches. History Alaçam County has a long history. It has been held by Phrygian, Cimmeria ...

district in Samsun Province, Turkey's

Black Sea Region The Black Sea Region ( tr, Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Samsun. Other big cities are Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Giresun, Rize, Amasya and Sinop. It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the ...

on 20 December 1993. She grew up in the village before her father moved the family to

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

in 2007. She learned about her eye disorder retinitis pigmentosa, which caused 50% loss of eyesight. She stated that "before she started performing sports, she stepped out home only to go to the school". She told further that "if she had not been visually impaired, she would pursue a career as a soldier or a policewoman". After finishing the high school, she studied at Gazi University in

to become a tour guide. For living, she started to work in the Provincial Directoriate of Youth and Sports in Ankara.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yesilyurt, Dondu 1993 births Living people People from Alaçam Gazi University alumni Sportspeople from Samsun Turkish blind people Turkish female judoka Turkish female weightlifters 20th-century Turkish sportswomen 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Visually impaired category Paralympic competitors Medalists at the European Para Championships