Neşe Şensoy Yıldız (born 10 June 1974 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) is a Turkish

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

, who competed in the women's extra-lightweight category. She held two Turkish senior titles in her own division, and picked up a total of twenty medals in her career, including a gold from the

2001 Mediterranean Games The XIV Mediterranean Games (), commonly known as the 2001 Mediterranean Games, were the 14th Mediterranean Games held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 2–15 September 2001, where 2,991 athletes (1,972 men and 1,019 women) from 23 countries participated. ...

Tunis, Tunisia Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, a silver from the

2006 European Judo Championships The 2006 European Judo Championships were the 17th edition of the European Judo Championships, and were held in Tampere, Finland between 25 and 28 May 2006. Medal overview Men Women Medals table Results overview Men 60 kg 66 kg 7 ...

Tampere, Finland Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, and a bronze from the 2003 World Judo Championships in

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

. Yildiz represented her nation

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004), where she failed to reach the quarterfinals in the 48-kg division. Throughout most of her sporting career, Yildiz trained for Ordu Judo Ihtisas Club in her native

under head coach and

sensei The term "先生", read in Chinese, in Japanese, in Korean, and in Vietnamese, is an honorific used in the Sinosphere. In Japanese, the term literally means "person born before another" or "one who comes before". It is generally used ...

Haldun Efemgil. Yildiz made her official debut at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where she competed in the women's extra-lightweight class (48 kg). She received a bye in the first round, but succumbed her opening match to Ukraine's Lyudmyla Lusnikova upon the judges' irrevocable decision. In 2001, Yildiz reached the pinnacle of her judo career at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

, where she became the first female Turkish judoka to capture the gold medal in her sport upon pinning Italy's

Giuseppina Macrì Giuseppina Macrì (born 3 September 1974 in Crotone) is an Italian judoka, who competed in the women's extra-lightweight category. She held five Italian senior titles in her own division, picked up a total of twenty-five medals in her career, inc ...

in the final match by an

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In judo In judo, an ''ippon'' may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the ...

score. Two years later, Yildiz shared bronze medals with Cuba's Danieska Carrión in the same division at the 2003 World Judo Championships in

to guarantee her spot on the Turkish team for her second Olympic stint. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Yildiz qualified as a lone female judoka for her second Turkish squad in the women's extra-lightweight class (48 kg), by placing third and receiving a berth from the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Yildiz opened her fight with a more convincing victory by a

waza-ari is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon'' or ''waza-ari'' contest, usually judo, karate, or jujutsu. ''Waza-ari'' in judo A ''waza-ari'' is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in judo, th ...

score over North Korea's Ri Kyong-ok, before she fell shortly in her next match to South Korea's Ye Gue-rin with a double shido deduction and a non-combative penalty. Shortly after her second Olympic stint, Yildiz redeemed her strength to pick up two more bronze medals in her career hardware at the

2005 Mediterranean Games The XVth Mediterranean Games Almería 2005 (XV Juegos del Mediterráneo 2005 in Spanish), commonly known as the 2005 Mediterranean Games, were the 15th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Almería, Spain over 10 days, from 24 June to 3 Ju ...

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and later at the

2005 European Judo Championships The 2005 European Judo Championships were the 16th edition of the European Judo Championships, and were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands from 20 May to 22 May 2005. Medal overview Men Women Medals table Results overview Men 60 kg 66 ...

Rotterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the New Meuse inland shi ...

. The following year, Yildiz capped off her judo career with a silver medal in the 48-kg division at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, losing the final match to Romanian judoka and reigning champion Alina Dumitru.

References

External links

* * 1974 births Living people Turkish female judoka Olympic judoka for Turkey Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Martial artists from Istanbul Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in judo {{Turkey-judo-bio-stub