Julia Clukey (born April 29, 1985, in

Augusta, Maine Augusta is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Maine. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Maine, 12th-most populous city in Maine, and third ...

) is an American

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r who started competing in 2002. Her best

Luge World Cup The Luge World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Luge Federation since 1977–78. The World Cup is the highest level season-long competition in the sport. Men's singles ;Medals: ;World Cup Stages medals ( ...

season finish was 12th in women's singles in 2007–08. Clukey's best finish at the

FIL World Luge Championships The FIL World Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place on an almost annual basis in non-Winter Olympics years since 1955. These championships are shown for artificial tracks. See FIL World Luge Natural ...

was fifth in women's singles at Lake Placid in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. On 28 September 2009, Clukey underwent knee surgery in

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,887, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Saranac Lake village, New ...

. She had to miss the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

event in

Altenberg, Germany Altenberg () is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. Geography The town is situated in the Ore Mountains, 32 km south of Dresden, and 15 km northwest of Teplice, Czech Republic. The village of ...

, to a neck injury incurred during training as posted on FIL's website on 3 December 2009, but was expected to be able to race in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the following week. (3 December 2009 article accessed 5 December 2009.) Despite her injuries, Clukey was selected in December 2009 to compete at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where she finished 17th. In 2011, Clukey underwent brain surgery for Arnold Chiari Malformation. Clukey is a spokesperson for the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association. She has partnered with the association of eight family-owned Maine distributors to be actively involved in their responsibility campaign. Since 2010, Olympian Julia Clukey has recorded public service announcements and appeared on local television and radio shows to raise awareness about the importance of responsibility and good decision-making. As a motivational speaker, she has also presented at more than 30 Maine high schools about the importance of overcoming challenges and of good decision-making. Through her outreach, she has reached more than 9,000 Maine high school students. As part of her commitment to give back to the community, she hosts a 10-day summer camp on Maranacook Lake in Readfield, Maine. Julia Clukey's Camp for Girls is designed for girls ages 8–12. The camp is made possible by the Kennebec Valley YMCA and the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association. The popular summer camp has attracted young girls from across Maine and as far away as New York.

References

FIL-Luge profileOfficial website

External links

* * * * 1985 births Living people American female lugers Olympic lugers for the United States Lugers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Augusta, Maine 21st-century American sportswomen {{US-luge-bio-stub