Paris 2024: Sevda Altunoluk training for Paralympic triple

Sevda Altunoluk  is the ‘best women’s goalball player in the world’ – she has even said so herself. 

“I called myself that more because that’s what people around me and the goalball community say and think,” she said modestly, but the stats do not lie. She is a quadruple European champion, double Paralympic champion and reigning world champion. 

So how does a player who has achieved everything in the game keep herself coming back for more? 

“I keep working a little bit harder and with more ambition every day to maintain this success,” Altunoluk said.  

“I think motivation is very important to be successful. I do mental training for that. The most important thing is to set big goals and visualise the competition in my mind.” 

And there are no prizes for guess which competition she is visualising at the moment.  

“I’m a bit excited about the 2024 Paris Paralympics,” she said. “There will be some very good teams and I think it will be a very competitive tournament. I can’t wait for it.” 

Coffee, carbs and constant improvement 

While most athletes might have a special programme in place ahead of Paris, for the all-conquering Turkey women’s goalball team it is business as usual.  

“I can say that we go on working in the same way since we already work with a Paralympic focus all the time,” Altunoluk explained. “We continue our work for the Paralympics by analysing our shortcomings. 

“We train twice a day. We do goalball training for three hours in the morning and fitness training in the evening. Training is very important for me to see what I lack and to improve my performance.” 

“I think the technique I’m practising now is good,” she said. “I’m trying to improve it even more with the help of our coaches.” 

And while she admits the one thing she can’t do without is coffee before training, she takes nutrition very seriously: “Our diet is determined by our conditioners. We consume foods containing protein and carbohydrates and balance them during the day.” 

Playing hard and studying hard pays 

Sevda’s serious approach to being an elite athlete was not always viewed as a good thing. Altunoluk’s vision impairment emerged in the third grade of primary school before she took up goalball in middle school. By the age of 16 she was competing for Turkiye at the International Blind Sports Federation European Championships. 

“My parents were not optimistic about sports because they wanted me to do better in my studies. But later on, they always supported me because I was successful in both sports and in my studies. I am still competitive, but I can control myself better," she recalled.

It wasn’t until Rio 2016, however, that she truly realised her potential – on and off the court.

“It is very valuable because it was our first Paralympic championship,” Altunoluk said.  

“After the Rio Games, I became more respected and recognised in the community. It became easier for me to get more opportunities in terms of sports.” 

But for pure athletic achievement, it is the memories of Tokyo 2020 that “stand out above all others”. And it isn’t because she scored nine goals in the final, after bagging a hat-trick in the Rio showpiece.  

“For me, all the memories of my career are precious, and it’s not possible to make a comparison in this respect, but in Tokyo, we set out with a new formation and although we were a brand-new team [including younger sister Sevtap], we won the gold medal.” 

Just as important as the victories are the defeats.

“The games I lost made me realise my mistakes, never give up and work harder to do better in the next tournament,” Altunoluk said. 

And that’s exactly what she did. Having claimed bronze and silver in 2014 and 2018 respectively, World Championship gold was the only accolade missing from her collection – and in 2022 she completed the set in style, scoring 57 goals (beating the 46 she scored in Tokyo). 

Now the focus is on Paris – and three titles in a row.  

“After two Paralympic championships, I trust my team and I believe we will win the third gold medal. We are already good as a team, and I think we will have a high chance of winning because my team and I have worked hard.” 

So focused is Altunoluk, in fact, that she has barely even considered the impact of the return of fans to Paralympic venues after the delayed Tokyo Games took place in near-empty arenas.  

“Since I only focus on winning from the moment I start playing, the presence or absence of spectators in tournaments doesn’t affect my motivation much,” she said. 

 “But, of course, this can vary from person to person. Still, I think spectators have a great impact on the [other] players and increase motivation.” 

Inspiring future generations 

Even off the court, she takes her position as a role model to other aspiring Paralympians and visually impaired people seriously. Altunoluk, who was named among the BBC’s 100 most influential women in of the year in 2021, said:  

“This is very precious for me, of course I care about this very much; it makes me very happy that people see me as a role model and that I inspire them. 

“I advise people to never give up no matter what the conditions are, to trust and to believe in themselves and to work hard because there is nothing that a person cannot do.” 

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website.