Profile

Date of birth: 14.05.1981
Place of birth: Miskolc
Height: 164 cm
Home town: Budapest
Profession: Student
Hobbies: music, cinema, reading
Start sk. / Club:1984 Tiszaujvarosi SC

Coach: Gurgen Vardanjan
Former coaches: Andras Szaraz, Eszter Jurek
Choreographer: Nina Petrenko
Ballet-master: Agnes Ascher
Practice low season: 20 h/week at New Jersey (USA), Skate Center, Budapest (HUN), Nove Zamky (SL).
Practice high season: 13 h/week at Budapest

Julia Sebestyen started skating at age 4 on an open-air ice rink in Tiszaujvaros. She continued to train there until the age of 13 when she moved to Budapest after competing in the World Junior Championships. Coach Andras Szaraz was a National Champion and competed internationally for Hungary. In 2004 Sebestyen won the first European Ladies title for Hungary in history.

(Source: ISU Ladies Biographies)

At the end of the 2004 European Championships, a stunning ovation paid tribute to the triumph of home star Julia Sebestyen, applauded almost uninterruptedly throughout the four minutes of her performance. After the bronze medal conquered the previous year, the Hungarian gained her gold medal (a first for Hungary at ladies) skating a great programme to a selection of tangos. A triple Flip, a triple Lutz/double Toe-loop combination and a double Axel were among perfectly executed elments: the scoreboard rewarded her with 5.9 for both technical merit and artistic impression. At the World Championships she was placed 6th that year, the second European skater after the impressive American and Japanese athletes. To the additional great results she has called on the help of the great coach Tatiana Tarasova, who has already guided several famous champions to succes.

(Source: European Figure Skating Championships 2005-Torino Official Programme)