MEET JULIA

2010 Olympic opening ceremonies

Growing up in Maine

Olympian Julia Clukey was born on April 29, 1985 in Augusta, Maine. Growing up in Maine provided her plenty of opportunities to find a passion for the outdoors and winter sports.

As a child, Julia played a variety of sports including basketball and soccer. It wasn’t until the age of 12 that she first tried the sport of luge. One Saturday afternoon, Julia and a friend were looking for something to do on a summer day and found an advertisement for a U.S.A. Luge recruiting tour event on Spring Street in Portland, Maine. As part of the event, U.S.A. Luge provided kids the opportunity to get on a luge sled (with wheels) and slide down Spring Street, one of Portland’s steepest streets. Captivated by the speed, adrenaline and challenges of the sport, Julia was hooked.

A year later, Julia was competing at the junior level in international competitions. By age 17, she had captured many individual Junior World Cup medals and was on her way to success.

The importance of education

Julia has remained dedicated to her success on the luge track and has always placed a heavy emphasis on education. During her days at Cony High School in Augusta, her teachers would send her homework assignments and projects to complete during her training in Lake Placid, New York, and even between competitions from locations around the globe.

“There were times in my career where I struggled to balance my school work with training for luge full time. I think because I grew up in a family full of educators, from a very young age I understood the importance of my school work and grades,” said Julia. “I quickly learned how to organize myself while I was traveling to ensure my grades never slipped. I strongly believe that my attitude and the work ethic I applied to my education has carried over to my work on and off the luge track. I surely couldn’t have done it alone. I owe a huge thanks to my teachers at Hodgkins Middle School and Cony High School for taking extra time to send me my work while I was away.”

Today, Julia remains dedicated to her sport, and her education, knowing it will be important for life after luge. She has been taking classes at the University of Maine in Orono and plans to graduate with a major in Civil Engineering.

Career accolades

The 2006-2007 season was particularly important for Julia’s Olympic aspirations. After narrowly making the team for the past year and a half, she returned to competition and raced to a career-best 4th place finish at the Verizon U.S. National Championships. Her success caught the attention of her teammates, her competitors and even surprised herself.

“That was a big step for me. I established to my peers that I could compete among the best in the world. The 4th place finish gave me the confidence I needed to keep following my dream,” said Clukey.

At her first World Championship event in Igls, Austria in 2007, she finished 8th.

She finished in 4th place at the 2007-08 World Cup in Lake Placid and prides herself on being a fourth-time International Start Champion.

In November 2008, Julia again notched her career-best finish in a World Cup competition in Lake Placid, New York when she finished in 4th place, missing the podium by just .04 seconds. The time was also one of her four top-10 finishes during the 2007-08 World Cup season. In addition to her best race time, Julia is a four-time International Start Champion.

In 2010, Clukey reached one of her goals by qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team. For the first time in her career she competed in front of a national television audience at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, where she finished 17th.

Always looking to reach new heights, Julia has already announced that she plans to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Overcoming adversity

While Julia Clukey’s life is full of milestones and accomplishments, it also contains times of tribulation. At age 19, Julia lost her father due to a heart attack and at that time put her athletic aspirations on hold and even contemplated her career. After a few months away from the sport, she returned and reinvested herself in the sport.

A significant setback for Clukey occurred during the summer of 2009. She suffered a major knee injury during a training exercise that resulted in a torn meniscus. After surgery that September, she was still using crutches to walk, but got on her sled to compete in the U.S.A. Luge Start Championship in November. Amazingly, just 11 days after returning to the track and still using crutches to walk, she won the event.

In 2009, Julia suffered a herniated disc in her neck and was most recently diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Syndrome, a disorder in which fluid doesn’t leave her brain properly. Strenuous workouts and heavy weightlifting can trigger headaches. To this day, she must closely monitor her training regimen to avoid headaches and other health complications.

2010 Olympic opening ceremonies

Julia’s amazing determination and perseverance continue to push her forward. Julia’s “I made it” moment (in her words) came at the opening ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. Standing inside the tunnel at the entrance to BC Stadium, Julia remembers looking around, seeing all her other teammates and the American flag being raised prior to being introduced.

“I remember waiting to come out of that tunnel, being amongst all the elite athletes, together at the same time. It was pretty moving,” said Clukey.

In 2010-2011, Julia continues to climb in the World Cup rankings with top 15 finishes. She posted strong times in December that include a 1st place finish in a Nation’s Cup event and a 5th place finish in a World Cup Event at Park City, Utah in late December.