Julia Manhard

Julia Manhard ( born August 28, 1987 in Füssen) is a German freestyle skier who starts in ski cross.

Manhard started already with 17 years in the freestyle skiing World Cup and reached consistently good results. In March 2007, she celebrated the victory at the Junior World Championships her first international and biggest success so far. On these followed knee problems and a meniscus tear, because of which they two winter - could not start in the World Cup - between 2007 and 2009. In the 2009/10 season, she returned with two top ten results back to the World Cup and thus qualified for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Career

Beginnings in the World Cup and World Junior Champion (2004 to 2006)

In her first World Cup season, the winter of 2004 / 05, Manhard launched in three competitions and reached the top twenty ranks every time. A year later, in January 2006, she placed in the top ten for the first time when she finished seventh at the World Cup in Kreischberg. Shortly thereafter, the then 18 -year-old reached in the qualification for the next World Cup fourth place and had, inter alia, the reigning world champion Karin Huttary from behind Austria. In competition, they eventually inserted itself in ninth place. Although she had expected, according to his own words so that they would qualify for the finals of the top four, they showed up but overall pleased with the successful start of the season and named as a target more consistent results. In two wins in the national Saab Salomon Crossmax Series of the hitherto greatest success came in Manhards career: At the Junior World Cup in 2006 in the Russian Krasnoe Ozero she won the first award in the ski cross gold medal. The Füssenerin benefited from her triumph in qualifying. Thus they had the tactical advantage of being able to select the starting gate freely in all runs to the finals and thus to choose the best position. In the final Manhard overtook just before closing the lying a long time in the lead Frenchwoman Meryll Boulangeat and finally won with the narrow margin of 20 centimeters. At the last World Cup season in the Sierra Nevada, the German two more times placed among the top ten.

Establishment in the world rankings and relapse due to injuries (2006 to 2009)

In November 2006, Ski Cross was officially recognized as an Olympic sport, find the first competitions held in 2010 at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. As a result, increased after Manhards observations, the interest in this sport, also the discipline has been professionalized to competitive sports. Personally, received the Füssenerin before winter an invitation to the Winter X Games 2007, after which she was particularly proud of because is so still have been about two years earlier unthinkable for them. Your goals are now to build on the previous season and to reach a World Cup final for the first time. In the winter of 2006/ 07 Manhard started with a seventh place in Flaine, where she was the best German against the eventual winner from Sweden, Magdalena Iljans, was eliminated in the semifinals. Seventh place authorized the German also early to start for the two Monte later held the world championship in Erwachsenenenbereich. Before the next World Cup were the end of January the first X - Games in Aspen on. After a disability in the semifinals she won there ultimately the victory of the French Ophelie David finished ninth. At the last race of the season in the World Cup Manhard managed each time to make it into the Top Ten, but missed a final. As most consistent German athlete, she was eighth in the World Cup in ski cross and took 19 years in March for the first time at a World Cup in some adults. In difficult conditions she left there, however, already in the qualifier, while her teammate Alexandra Grauvogl the bronze medal. Shortly thereafter, the Füssenerin lost in sixth at the Junior World Championships after falling in the semifinals her title to another Frenchwoman, Alizée Boulangeat. After prevented title defense Manhard was disappointed and said: ". Actually I wanted to win the title again "

Prior to the 2007/ 08 season Manhard was optimistic that they would first move into a final. In addition, it was assumed that the battle for the overall World Cup will more exciting due to the extended World Cup calendar. However, they suffered a knee injury and was out for the entire season, a comeback she could give only in the pre-Olympic winter 2008 /09. In the European Cup in Grasgehren she came to the podium and was beaten only by two teammates. Then she had another bad luck with injuries, she suffered a meniscus tear and fell again for the rest of the season, as the cause of a weakened ligament was traded. Thus, they could deny only a competition at the international level within two and a half years. Heli Herdt, the athletic director in the field of ski cross explained Manhard despite this setback was " highly motivated, as soon as possible to prepare for the 2009/2010 season."

Qualify for the Olympics (2009 to 2010)

The Olympic 2009/10 season began in late December 2009, the World Cup in San Candido, Italy. After her injury Manhard came again into the top ten and reached the ninth. For the Olympic qualifying, the freestyle skier had the general standard of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB ) meet, so go either once or twice in the top eight in the top fifteen. With the ninth place in the season opener, the Füssenerin had already fulfilled the first part of the norm, it was missing another top -15 result. This they reached in mid-January 2010, when they reached another ninth place and thus qualified as the fourth German freestyle skier for the Olympics.

Private

At the beginning of her career Julia Manhard was still a student, before she was a high school in the summer of 2007 and began to study at the Julius- Maximilians -Universität Würzburg biomedicine. This situation has already been presented as examples for other athletes who do not fully practice their sport professionally, but studies simultaneously. Manhard itself, which in the winter had as a student in his own words about 30 days of absence, this is referred to as " not exactly stress-free ", it is however always skied and did not want to stop. As a professional goal she plans a master's degree in biomedicine and possibly a PhD.

Julia Manhards three years younger sister Christina also part of the German freestyle skiing national team. The World Cup is currently a twelfth rank their best result.