Austrian snowboarding champion Julia Dujmovits’ country fellows decided to celebrate and acknowledge her success in a way very few sports people have the chance to see, especially during their lifetime. In her hometown. Güssing, Julia has a street named after her! Can you imagine that? But, when talking to Julia, she reconfirmed something we all know. Winning the Olympic Gold is a dream came true for any sports champion, yet the road to success is not an easy one. Long hours of training and countless injuries are often the price you have to pay when preparing for the Olympic gold. It takes hard work, dedication, perseverance, and much love for the sport, but that’s nothing compared to what Julia witnessed in Kaprun. She's not just a snowboarding Olympic medalist, but also a champion of life!
JULIA TALKS ABOUT THE KAPRUN DISASTER
The Kaprun disaster was one of Austria’s biggest national tragedies. It happened on 11th of November 2000, when a fire that occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of Gletscherbahn Kaprun, claimed the lives on 155 people among which were Julia’s friends, colleagues and coaches. Julia and her brother were the only ones in their team to escape the tragedy, deciding last minute to go down the mountain together on their snowboards. Almost 20 years after that moment, Julia keeps her friends’ memories alive.
WINNING THE OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL
First Olympic Games participation, first Gold medal in the competition. Sochi 2014 gave Julia Dujmovits the well-deserved reward after a lifetime of training. She is very modest when talking about how her success was celebrated, but after doing some research, we understood that the Austrians gave her a proper celebration, worthy of an Olympic champion once she returned from Russia. She even had to postpone the trip to Alaska she promised she would take with her brother if she won a medal in the Olympics. Also, as we found out by chance, her native town, Güssing, honoured Julia by naming one of the streets after her. That’s what we call a true recognition of success!
DEALING WITH INJURIES
Warning! The next video might give you two reactions, both OMG moments. While listening to Julia’s story about the injuries she had during her career, please do not forget the fact that this fragile “ballerina” on snow won a Gold medal in the Olympics. The determination, the will to recover and continue her journey as a top athlete stand proof of a strong character and a mind-set worthy of a champion.
LIVING AND TEACHING YOGA
After getting injured so often, Julia Dujmovits realized she had to do something to keep herself balanced and it all started with a trip to Maui. That's how yoga appeared into her life. Yoga helps Julia being present in the moment and focusing on the things that really matter. Now Julia has her own Yoga YouTube Channel.
DISCOVER JULIA DUJMOVITS & SIBERIAN HUSKY KIRA'S ADVENTURES
Meeting Olympic snowboarding champion Julia Dujmovits and her Siberian Husky Kira was such a great experience that we had to have more stories with both of them. Read below some of these stories and in case you want more, just follow Julia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or you can visit Julia's website!
