Julia Sauter-Czarnik is now back on the ice at the CHG Arena in Ravensburg. The 28-year-old is preparing with her coach Roxana Hartmann for the World Championships in Prague at the end of March.
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Sauter-Czarnik still beams when she thinks back on her ten days in Italy. ‘Everything was absolutely wonderful from start to finish, just fantastic,’ says the 28-year-old. ‘I'm proud and happy that I performed perfectly at the Olympic Games.’ With 63.16 points, Sauter-Czarnik, who has been competing for Romania for many years, had already set a personal best in the short programme. ‘My family was there, it was great that I could show what I had worked on in training,’ says the Ravensburgerin.
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Her husband Robbie Czarnik was also there for the short programme. The Ravensburg Towerstars forward travelled to Milan after his team's DEL2 match against the Kassel Huskies. ‘As a professional, he understands a little better what it means to be able to compete at the Olympic Games,’ says Sauter-Czarnik.
Her husband got a day pass and was allowed to accompany her to the Olympic Village. ‘We printed a selfie on a Coke bottle, took pictures with the Olympic rings and I showed him everything,’ says the figure skater.
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A member of her home club, ESC Ravensburg, had applied to be a volunteer. ‘He was standing right by the boards, and I looked straight at him after my free skate, which was quite funny,’ says Sauter-Czarnik. But it wasn't just this brief encounter that put her in a good mood and made her feel very proud. The Ravensburgerin also succeeded in her free skate, achieving another personal best with 127.80 points. ‘I've been trying to score 175 points for a long time, so I was briefly shocked when I saw 190 on the scoreboard,’ says Sauter-Czarnik with a laugh.
Videos of the scoring show the 28-year-old literally freaking out with joy and throwing her arms around her long-time coach. In the end, she scored 190.93 points, putting Sauter-Czarnik in 17th place. ‘You work for years to remain flawless in the short programme and the free skate, and I managed to do that at the Olympic Games.’
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As the Romanian flag bearer at both the opening and closing ceremonies, the 28-year-old was already in the spotlight. ARD and ZDF were also interested in her story. ‘I made the decision to compete for Romania 15 years ago.’ It was to be expected that this story surrounding the Olympic Games would be picked up by many. ‘But it was also exhausting,’ says the athlete.
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Sauter-Czarnik did not feel nervous at all during those days. ‘Between the short programme and the free skate, I was calmer than ever,’ she says. ‘I just wanted to enjoy everything, and maybe that helped me skate so well.’
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The first skater in the history of Lithuania to become an Olympian! I know what an extremely difficult road she was on and how many difficulties she has encountered - especially in the last few seasons. She fought until the end and made her dream come true!
I believe she has more great achievements in the future because she is a very strong person.
After many championship titles (among other times Romanian champion) now one of the best European athletes at the Winter Games in Italy.
