Julie Johnson has landed in Europe with gold and silver medals already in her pocket.
The Burnaby-based bobsledder began a training and education excursion in Germany last week with Canada’s World Cup bobsleigh team after first and second place finishes at the season’s first international races held recently at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
Johnson and new brakeman Cynthia Serwaah piloted their sled to a gold in the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s first North American Cup, then collected silver on the next day.
In fact, Johnson’s gold medal performance bested world champion and Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor by 0.2 seconds. She also set several personal bests.
Johnson said it took awhile for the enormity of her accomplishment to sink in.
“I honestly wasn’t even thinking about my competition,” she said. “But hearing the Canadian national anthem surrounded by some of the top athletes in the sport is something I won’t forget.”
It was also an exciting start to the gruelling four-year cycle to the next Winter Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, China.
Johnson, a Saskatchewan native who took up the sport after a 40-second tourist run down the track at Whistler, said she’s on target to get there.
“I want to soak in the entire experience so that in the upcoming seasons I can move up the ranks and be ready and confident for the Winter Olympics,” she said.
That climb begins in Altenberg, where Johnson is working alongside Canada’s top sledders on one of the world’s most challenging courses.
She’ll compete in some second-tier Europa Cup races before joining the elite World Cup circuit in late-December, which will lead into the world championships at Whistler in March.
After Johnson and then-brakeman Kori Hol finished ninth at the world juniors in Switzerland, she embarked on a busy off-season that included rigorous sport-specific training at Burnaby’s Fortius Centre.
“The staff there helped me get into the best shape I’ve ever been in,” she said, adding she also worked with a sports psychologist so she could more easily cope with the hectic challenges of competing at an elite level.
“Each season I do teaches me something new,” she said.
Her biggest move was a decision by Johnson’s coach, Todd Hayes, to join with Serwaah after Hol chose to pilot her own sled. Johnson said she only needed a day of training with Serwaah before they ran their first race.
“She is one of the strongest girls on the team,” Johnson said. “My confidence in us as a team was high.”
To get to the top of her sport, Johnson said she’ll continue to work on her consistency, making incremental improvements every time she steers her craft through a high-speed chute.
“I’m always working on something,” she said. “There’s no such thing as a perfect run.”
If Johnson can attain her goal of representing Canada at the 2022 Olympics, it would be as perfect as it gets.
