Sevda Altunoluk named June’s Allianz Athlete of the Month

Turkish player was the top scorer at the IBSA Goalball Worlds 09 Jul 2018

Turkey's Sevda Altunoluk was the top scorer at the 2018 IBSA Goalball World Championships

ⒸKarl Nilsson

A World Championship-leading performance has earned Turkish goalball player Sevda Altunoluk the Allianz Athlete of the Month honour for June.

The 24-year-old was the tournament’s top scorer (both men and women’s) with 46 goals at the 2018 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball World Championships in Malmo, Sweden. She was a crucial part of Turkey’s path to silver medal success.

Altunoluk received 64 per cent of the public votes. US wheelchair racer Daniel Romanchuk came in second with 26 per cent. Brazilian blind footballer Richardinho, Norwegian rower Birgit Skarstein and Japanese wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda were also nominated.

The 2018 winners are:

January – Oksana Masters, USA, Nordic skiing

February – Mac Marcoux, CAN, alpine skiing

March (Best Male) – Brian McKeever, CAN, Nordic skiing

March (Best Female) – Ekaterina Rumyantseva, NPA, Nordic skiing

March (Best Team) – Chinese wheelchair curling team

April – Gemma Collis-McCann, GBR, wheelchair fencing

May – Sareh Javanmardi, IRI, shooting

June – Sevda Altunoluk, TUR, goalball