Juulia Turkkila


Juulia Turkkila is a Finnish figure skater. Competing in ice dancing with Matthias Versluis, she has won three international medals and the 2019 Finnish national title.
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.

Personal life

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

Career

Early years

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

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 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.

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. Tarja Sipilä coached Turkkila at Helsingin Luistelijat figure skating club in Helsinki.
On 1 April 2016, the Finnish Figure Skating Association reported that Turkkila had teamed up with Matthias Versluis to compete in ice dancing.

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.

Programs

Ice dancing with Versluis

Single skating

Results

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

Ice dancing with Versluis

Single skating