Athlete

English, Turkish

Akhisar Belediyesi [TUR] / Spor Toto Spor Kulubu [TUR]:

Burcu Onal Sevlim [national]

She withdrew from the individual finals at the 2022 Czech Open in Prague due to a rib injury. (Facebook page, 21 Apr 2022; aa.com.tr, 10 Apr 2022)

She sustained a hamstring injury at the 2021 European Championships in Pesaro, Italy. She also underwent a cyst removal surgery on her wrist after the championships. (fanatik.com.tr, 21 Dec 2021; Facebook page, 18 Sep 2021)

In March 2021 she fractured her right wrist and fingers. She was able to resume training later that month. (Instagram profile, 08 Mar 2021)

She practised ballet and competed in artistic gymnastics in her youth. She began competing in aerobic gymnastics in 2010.

Originally a ballet dancer, her instructor encouraged her parents to let her try gymnastics due to her fluid movements. "After doing ballet for two years, my trainer Maria Urdampilleta directed me to gymnastics. During this period, I also attended swimming courses. Then I started artistic gymnastics course organised by the Akhisar Municipality. After training for a year, I participated in provincial level competitions in Manisa. I switched to aerobics after meeting with an aerobic coach in a competition."

She became the first athlete representing Turkiye to win a medal in aerobics at the world championships when she claimed the women's individual title at the 2021 edition of the tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. (aa.com.tr, 03 Jun 2021; trtspor.com.tr, 23 Jun 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jun 2022)

She trains five days a week in Manisa, Turkiye.

Brazilian aerobic gymnast Marcela Lopez. (Instagram profile, 19 Nov 2020)

"Being an intelligent, agile and moral athlete is my basic philosophy." (sozcu.com.tr, 25 Apr 2021)

In 2023 she was named Athlete of the Year by the Istanbul University Business Club in Turkiye. (tcf.gov.tr, 12 May 2023; Facebook page, 12 May 2023)

She was named Female Athlete of the Year at the 2022 Turkiye Women's Summit in Istanbul. (hurriyet.com.tr, 09 Mar 2022; Facebook page, 07 Mar 2022)

A gymnasium at Istanbul Gelisim University in Turkiye was named after her in recognition of the gold medal she won at the 2021 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. (fanatik.com.tr, 08 Jun 2021)

She was named 2021 Most Successful National Athlete of the Year at the Altin Ege Awards in Izmir, Turkiye. (Facebook page, 14 Dec 2021)

She was named 2017 Best Athlete of the Year at the Bogazici University Sports Awards in Istanbul, Turkiye. (beinsports.com.tr, 19 Dec 2017)

She was presented the Achiever Award in Sports at the 2017 Izmir Private Turkish College [ITK] Bahattin Tatis Future Achievement Awards in Turkiye. (ozelturkkoleji.com, 17 Nov 2017)

She was named Best Female Athlete at the 2017 Elele AVON Women's Awards in Turkiye. (hurriyet.com.tr, 04 Aug 2017)

She was named 2016 Athlete of the Year at the Okan University Sports Awards in Istanbul, Turkiye. (okan.edu.tr, 04 Apr 2017)

She was named 2016 Athlete of the Year at the Turkish Sports Writers Association [TSYD] Aegean Sports Awards in Turkiye. (haberturk.com, 18 Jan 2017)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
She originally planned to retire from competitive gymnastics after the 2023 European Championships in Antalya, Turkiye. However, a disappointing performance in the women's individual event at the tournament motivated her to continue in the sport. "The European championships was basically the 'last tournament' for me. I made mistakes in the finals. These tiny mistakes, which you didn't even realise when watching it yourself, took me to the last place in the finals. When I was leaving after the series ended, thinking that this performance was going to be my last one, I thought to myself, 'Is it over now?' I realised I was not ready to decide." (MeloGym Instagram profile, 19 Aug 2024, 26 Jun 2024; Facebook page, 27 Nov 2023; Instagram profile, 27 Nov 2023)

OTHER STUDIES
She has studied business administration at Istanbul University in Turkey. "I am currently [speaking in 2021] studying at two universities. I am a student at Istanbul Gelisim University, faculty of sports sciences, and I am also openly studying business administration at Istanbul University. You have to love your sport very much. I am planning an academic career so that I can pass this flag on to the next generations." (hurriyet.com.tr, 09 Mar 2022, 30 May 2021)

CHOREOGRAPHY STYLE
She had planned to make a style change at the beginning of 2021, but chose to remain with Latin and salsa-based choreography for the 2021 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. "It is a style I trust. When I compete with it, it gives me extra confidence. I didn't think it was right to take the risk. If we look at scores from the last year, I do the best in terms of difficulty, so I think my overall score will also increase. Of course, one of my goals is to break the world record." (aa.com.tr, 04 Feb 2021)