Sochi 2014 PGS gold medallist Julia Dujmovits (AUT) announces comeback

There was big news out of the Austrian camp on Monday evening, as Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games parallel giant slalom gold medallist Julia Dujmovits announced her comeback to the FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup circuit, with a medal at the 2022 Games in Beijing her stated goal.

It was an unexpected announcement when Dujmovits announced her retirement from competition in a TV interview immediately after the parallel giant slalom competition at Pyeongchang 2018 Games. However, exactly 947 days later, it was an equally unexpected announcement when the rider from Burgenland announced on Monday evening her comeback to snowboard racing competition.

The Olympic champion and two-time world championships silver medallist (Stoneham (CAN) 2013 in PGS, Lachtal (AUS) 2015 in PSL) completed her first training sessions with the ÖSV team on the Stilfserjoch (ITA) last week. “I’m starting to work through a long checklist. In the next on-snow training I will primarily take care of the optimal coordination of materials in order to be competitive again soon. But I will give myself the time to hopefully get back to where I was in March 2018,” Dujmovits explained.

The declared long-term goal of the 33-year-old is the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN). "By Beijing 2022 I would like to achieve a level of performance in order to have a realistic chance for a medal. At the moment there are still 1,000 question marks because it is difficult to assess where I stand in comparison with the competition. For now I’m just grateful for the chance to compete once again, and I would like to thank the ÖSV for their support in my comeback.”

Christian Galler, sports director for snowboarding in the Austrian Ski Federation, was looking forward to having Dujmovits back in the mix on the already-formidable Austrian Alpine SB team. “After joining the ÖSV squad for the first time in 2004, Julia Dujmovits established herself in the national snowboard team within just two years and always showed strong nerves at major events and in the World Cup,” said Galler, “I know Julia as a very goal-oriented athlete who is works extremely hard for herself and for her success. Especially in the areas of material development and physical fitness she always brings new inputs. I am very happy that Julia has listened to her heart and will support us in the World Cup team again in the 2020/21 season and moving forward.“

- Courtesy Oesterreichischer Skiverband (OSV)