20.10.2017
Nevriye Yılmaz, who was the captain of the Turkish Women's National Basketball Team at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, was today elected as a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Athletes' Commission.
Yılmaz' term will last four years and was confirmed at the 9th Athletes Forum and 5th Assembly of the European Athletes in Monaco on 20 October 2017.
The European Olympic Committees Athletes' Commission represents the active elite athletes of the member NOCs of the European Olympic Committees. The Athletes' Commission acts as a mediator between the active athletes and the EOC Executive Committee. This setup guarantees that athletes views are represented in all EOC decisions.
Nevriye Yilmaz
Yilmaz, born 16 June 1980, began her career in basketball at the Istanbul University Sports Club in 1992. She played there in the U16 and U18 teams up until 1999, during which she was crowned Turkish champion once as well as reaching three more finals.
She then moved to Boğaziçi High School where she continued her studies. She enjoyed a very successful period there collecting four Turkish championships as well as a world championship.
As a professional, Yilmaz played for both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe throughout her career during which she collected one EuroLeague Championship, 10 Turkish championships, six Turkish cups and three presidential cups.
Yilmaz also had stints in the Greek, Italian and Israeli leagues and became the first Turkish woman to play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), quickly becoming a symbol for young Turkish athletes.
Yilmaz began playing for Turkey in 1994 for the U16's and subsequently played for the U18's, U21's and senior teams. With 307 appearances, she holds the record of most capped women's national basketball player for Turkey.
During her time in the national team, Turkey won silver medals at the 2011 European Championships and competed at the 2014 World Championships for the first time ever. Yilmaz was also part of the Turkish team which won one gold and one silver medal at the Mediterranean Games.
Yilmaz' personal achievements are listed below:
- Voted "Legend of Modern Times" after collecting more than 87% of votes out of the 32 candidates from a public vote on the EuroLeague Twitter account.
- Played in three EuroLeague All Star matches and became the first and only Turkish female athlete to achieve this.
- Turkey Women's Basketball League All Star Most Valuable Player (MVP)
- 2005 European Championship Rebound Queen
- 2011 European Championship top five
Yilmaz has been nominated by the National Olympic Committee of Turkey for her? contribution to Turkish sports and elected as a member of the Athletic Commission by European Olympic Committees.