Juulia Turkkila

Juulia Turkkila
Turkkila/Versluis in 2018
Personal information
Country represented	Finland
Born	(1994-11-03) 3 November 1994 (age 27) Helsinki, Finland
Residence	Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Partner	Matthias Versluis
Coach	Maurizio Margaglio
Former coach	Tarja Sipilä, Tilu Valgemäe
Choreographer	Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali
Former choreographer	Shae Zukiwsky, Maria McLean, Igor Lutikov, Olga Tkachenko, Pirjo Kuha
Skating club	Helsingin Luistelijat
Training locations	Helsinki
Began skating	2001
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	185.19 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy
Short program	71.92 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy
Free skate	113.27 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy

Juulia Turkkila (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjuːliɑ ˈturkːilɑ]; born 3 November 1994) is a Finnish figure skater. Competing in ice dancing with Matthias Versluis, she has won multiple international medals and is a two-time Finnish national champion (2019, 2022).

As a single skater, she is the 2012 Nordic champion and 2014 Finnish national champion. She competed in the final segment at eight ISU Championships, achieving her best result, 12th, at the 2014 Europeans.^[1]

Personal life[]

Juulia Turkkila was born on 3 November 1994 in Helsinki, Finland.^[2] At age six, she began training in ballet at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.^[3] After graduating from secondary school, she decided to study economics at Aalto University.^[3]

Career[]

Early years[]

Turkkila began learning to skate in 2001.^[2] She made her junior international debut at the Nordic Championships in February 2010.^[4]

2010–2011 season[]

Turkkila placed 16th at the 2011 World Junior Championships, 15th at the 2011 European Championships, and 20th at the 2011 World Championships. She won the bronze medal at the 2011 Nordics.

2011–2012 season[]

Turkkila at the 2012 Worlds

Turkkila won the silver medal at the 2012 Finnish Championships, behind Kiira Korpi. She placed 17th at the 2012 European Championships, 19th at the 2012 World Junior Championships, and 18th at the 2012 World Championships. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Nordics.

2012–2013 season[]

Turkkila placed 6th at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy, and 9th at the 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy. She won the silver medal at the 2013 Finnish Championships, again finishing second to Kiira Korpi. She was 17th at the 2013 European Championships but was eliminated from the 2013 World Championships after placing 31st in the short program.

2013–2014 season[]

Turkkila placed 7th at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy, and 14th at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy. She won the gold medal at the 2014 Finnish Championships. She was 12th at the 2014 European Championships, her best result at the Europeans this far. She did not reach the final at the 2014 World Championships, placing 29th in the short program.

2014–2015 season[]

Turkkila participated at the 2014 Finlandia Trophy where she placed 7th and at the 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy where she placed 6th. On 22 October 2014, it was reported that she had a season-ending injury.^[5]

2015–2016 season[]

Turkkila returned to competition in 2015, placing 5th at the Lombardia Trophy. She was 10th at the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy and 14th at the 2015 Finlandia Trophy. In December 2015, Turkkila won the bronze medal at the Finnish Championships. On 20 January 2016, the Finnish Figure Skating Association reported that her season was over due to a groin strain.^[6] Tarja Sipilä coached Turkkila at Helsingin Luistelijat figure skating club in Helsinki.^[7]

On 1 April 2016, the Finnish Figure Skating Association reported that Turkkila had teamed up with Matthias Versluis to compete in ice dancing.^[8]

2016–2017 season: Debut of Turkkila/Versluis[]

Making their international debut, Turkkila/Versluis placed sixth at the NRW Trophy in November 2016. Later that month, they finished 13th at their first ISU Challenger Series assignment, the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy. In December, they took the silver medal behind Cecilia Törn / Jussiville Partanen at the 2017 Finnish Championships. In February, they represented Finland at the 2017 Winter Universiade, finishing eighth.

2017–2018 season[]

Turkkila/Versluis competed at a pair of Challenger Series competitions – placing 10th at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy and 15th at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy – and then finished 13th at the International Cup of Nice. In November, they won bronze at the Ice Challenge in Austria. In December, they repeated as national silver medalists, again finishing second to Törn/Partanen.

2018–2019 season[]

Turkkila/Versluis began their season with three Challenger Series events – they finished sixth at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, seventh at the 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, and sixth at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. In October, the duo won silver at the Minsk-Arena Ice Star. In November, they debuted on the Grand Prix series, placing sixth at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki, and then took bronze at the Warsaw Cup. The following month, they became the Finnish national champions and were selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, where they placed eleventh. They then competed at their first World Championships, placing sixteenth.

2019–2020 season[]

Turkkila sustained a neck injury in a practice session at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy, compelling the team to withdraw from the competition. They subsequently also withdrew from the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy and the 2019 Rostelecom Cup, their Grand Prix assignment for the year.^[9] They were assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.^[10]

2020–2021 season[]

Returning to competition for the first time in two years, Turkkila/Versluis represented Finland at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, placing twenty-first after a fluke error on the rotational lift.^[11]

2021–2022 season[]

Turkkila/Versluis began the Olympic season at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, where they placed sixth.^[12] They were assigned to the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, seeing to qualify a place for Finland at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They placed first in both programs, setting three new personal bests to take both their first Challenger gold and the first of four available dance spots.^[13] At their third Challenger event of the season, the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, Turkkila/Versluis came sixth, notably managing fourth place in the free dance.^[14] They competed at the 2021 Cup of Nice, also known as Trophée Métropole Nice, where they won gold, before going on to make their Grand Prix appearance at the 2021 Internationaux de France, where they finished in seventh.^[15]

Programs[]

Turkkila at the 2012 World Championships

Turkkila and Versluis at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki

Ice dancing with Versluis[]

Single skating[]

Results[]

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Ice dancing with Versluis[]

Single skating[]

References[]