Julia Matijass

Julia Matijass ( born September 22, 1973 in Ljubino, Soviet Union) is a German judoka Russian origin.

Matijass, which belonged to the Russian national squad until 1994 was there promoted by their exclusion from the German coach Jürgen Füchtmeyer and brought to Osnabrück. She trains under the direction of Jürgen Füchtmeyer the Judo Crocodiles Osnabrück eV. Since 1999 she is a German citizen.

She was three times (1999, 2000, 2002 ) German Champion and 2000 European Championships bronze medalist. The Judo 2003 World Championships in Osaka Japan, she was fifth.

The greatest success of her career, she celebrated at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. There she won the bronze medal in the weight category up to 48 kg and thus the first medal for Germany at these games. It was after Johanna Hagn in Atlanta and Anna -Maria Ante degree in Sydney, the third Olympic medal for German judoka women at all.

2004 Julia was voted athlete of the year in Lower Saxony. In 2005 she was awarded by the Federal President Horst Köhler, the largest award for an athlete in Germany, the Silver Laurel Leaf. In the same year Matijass was awarded the Lower Saxony Sports Medal in recognition for services to the sport through outstanding personal athletic achievements.

She works as an administrative professional employees at the city council Osnabrück.