Hours, after her team was eliminated from the Champions League semifinals, an 18-year-old Italian volleyball player of Nigerian heritage, died after falling from a hotel window.
Following her team’s defeat on Wednesday, April 12, Julia Ituma was found dead at her hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday morning, April 13.
The “next great thing” in volleyball was playing for Igor Gorgonzola Novara in their second-leg knockout match against Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul. Despite their loss, she scored two points for her team.
The Italian consulate in Turkey claimed that they were aiding Ituma’s family and coordinating with Turkish authorities.
According to CNN, Ituma was discovered motionless on the ground outside the Valley Hotel at around 5.30am on Thursday.
She was pronounced dead shortly after paramedics and emergency responders arrived at the scene.
Local police confirmed that an investigation into the incident has begun. Her body was later sent for forensic examination in order to determine the cause of her tragic death.
Ituma was born in 2001 in Milan to Nigerian parents and was regarded as one of Italy’s most promising volleyball players. She began playing volleyball when she was 11 years old.
She had joined Igor Gorgonzola Novara three seasons before, having transferred from Club Italia. Ituma had recently finished the season with Igor, finishing fifth in the national Serie A1 league.
Local police confirmed that an investigation into the incident has begun. Her body was later sent for forensic examination in order to determine the cause of her tragic death.
Ituma was born in 2001 in Milan to Nigerian parents and was regarded as one of Italy’s most promising volleyball players. She began playing volleyball when she was 11 years old.
She had joined Igor Gorgonzola Novara three seasons before, having transferred from Club Italia. Ituma had recently finished the season with Igor, finishing fifth in the national Serie A1 league.
Ituma won a gold medal with the Under-19 Italian national team at the European Championship and the European Youth Olympic Festival last year. Prior to that, she was a runner-up with the Under-18 team following their 2021 defeat to Russia.
