Juulia Turkkila (; born 3 November 1994) is a Finnish

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. Competing in

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

with

Matthias Versluis Matthias Versluis (born 18 July 1994) is a Finnish figure skater. Competing in ice dancing with Juulia Turkkila, he is the 2023 European Figure Skating Championships, 2023 European bronze medalist, a two-time Grand Prix of Finland, Grand Prix of E ...

, she is the 2023 European bronze medalist, a two-time

Grand Prix of Espoo The Grand Prix of Finland is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). It is organized and hosted by the Finnish Figure Skating Association, and part of the ISU Grand Prix Series. The first comp ...

bronze medalist,

2023 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 6–8, 2023, in Espoo, Finland. It was part of the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The International ...

gold medalist, and a five-time Finnish national champion (2019, 2022–24). Turkkila/Versluis also earned a small bronze medal for the free dance segment at the 2025 European Championships. As a single skater, she is the 2012

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

champion and 2014 Finnish national champion. She competed in the final segment at eight ISU Championships, achieving her best result, twelfth, at the 2014 Europeans.

Personal life

Juulia Turkkila was born on 3 November 1994 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. At age six, she began training in ballet at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet. After graduating from secondary school, she decided to study economics at

Aalto University Aalto University (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economic ...

Career

Early years

Turkkila began learning to skate in 2001. She made her junior international debut at the Nordic Championships in February 2010.

2010–11 season

Turkkila placed sixteenth at the 2011 World Junior Championships, fifteenth at the 2011 European Championships, and twentieth at the 2011 World Championships. She won the bronze medal at the 2011 Nordics.

2011–12 season

Turkkila won the silver medal at the 2012 Finnish Championships, behind

Kiira Korpi Kiira Linda Katriina Korpi (; born 26 September 1988) is a Finnish figure skater. She is a three-time European Figure Skating Championships, European medalist (bronze in 2007 European Figure Skating Championships, 2007 and 2011 European Figure Ska ...

. She placed seventeenth at the 2012 European Championships, nineteenth at the 2012 World Junior Championships, and eighteenth at the 2012 World Championships. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Nordics.

2012–13 season

Turkkila placed sixth at the

2012 Finlandia Trophy The 2012 Finlandia Trophy was an international figure skating competition in the 2012–13 season. The 17th edition of the annual event was held on October 5–7, 2012 at the Barona Arena in Espoo. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's s ...

and ninth at the

2012 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 27–29, 2012 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf. The event is held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain. It is one of the first international senior com ...

. She won the silver medal at the 2013 Finnish Championships, again finishing second to

. She was seventeenth at the 2013 European Championships but was eliminated from the 2013 World Championships after placing thirty-first in the short program.

2013–14 season

Turkkila placed seventh at the

2013 Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by Skating Finland (). The competition debuted in 1995 in Helsinki, and when the ISU launched the ISU Challenger ...

and fourteenth at the

2013 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 26–28, 2013 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf. It is held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain. Medals were awarded in men's and ladies' singles, pa ...

. She won the gold medal at the 2014 Finnish Championships. She was twelfth at the 2014 European Championships, her best result at the Europeans this far. She did not reach the final at the 2014 World Championships, placing twenty-ninth in the short program.

2014–15 season

Turkkila participated at the

2014 Finlandia Trophy The 2014 Finlandia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2014–15 season. A part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series, the 19th edition of the annual event was held on October 9–12, 2014 at the Barona Arena in ...

, where she placed 7th, and at the

2014 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2014–15 season. Part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series, it was held on 24–27 September 2014 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf in Oberstdorf, Germany. ...

, where she placed sixth. On 22 October 2014, it was reported that she had a season-ending injury.

2015–16 season

Turkkila returned to competition in 2015, placing 5th at the

Lombardia Trophy The Lombardia Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Italian Ice Sports Federation (). The competition debuted in 2013 in Sesto San Giovanni, and when the I ...

. She was tenth at the

2015 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2015–16 season. Part of the 2015–16 ISU Challenger Series, it was held on September 24–26, 2015 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf. Medals were awarded in ...

and fourteenth at the

2015 Finlandia Trophy The 2015 Finlandia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2015–16 figure skating season, 2015–16 season. A part of the 2015–16 ISU Challenger Series, the 20th edition of the annual event was held on October 9– ...

. In December 2015, Turkkila won the bronze medal at the Finnish Championships. On 20 January 2016, the Finnish Figure Skating Association reported that her season was over due to a groin strain. Tarja Sipilä coached Turkkila at Helsingin Luistelijat figure skating club in

. On 1 April 2016, the Finnish Figure Skating Association reported that Turkkila had teamed up with

to compete in

2016–17 season: Debut of Turkkila/Versluis

Making their international debut, Turkkila/Versluis placed sixth at the

NRW Trophy The NRW Trophy (also known as the NRW Summer Trophy or the NRW Autumn Trophy) is an annual international figure skating competition organized by the Skating Union of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2007, it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eisla ...

in November 2016. Later that month, they finished 13th at their first

ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 figure skating season, 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU ...

assignment, the

2016 CS Tallinn Trophy The 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition, held in November 2016 at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. Its senior categories were part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in ...

. In December, they took the silver medal behind Törn/ Partanen at the 2017 Finnish Championships. In February, they represented Finland at the

2017 Winter Universiade Winter Universiade 2017, the XXVIII Winter Universiade, was a multi-sport winter event which took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 29 January to 8 February 2017. On 29 November 2011, International University Sports Federation, FISU announced that ...

, finishing eighth.

2017–18 season

Turkkila/Versluis competed at a pair of Challenger Series competitions – placing tenth at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy, and fifteenth at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy – and then finished thirteenth at the

International Cup of Nice International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. In November, they won bronze at the

Ice Challenge The IceChallenge (2021 held as Cup of Austria; originally called the Leo-Scheu-Gedächtnislaufen) is an annual international figure skating competition, organized by the Grazer Eislaufverein and generally held every autumn in Graz, Austria. In som ...

in Austria. In December, they repeated as national silver medalists, again finishing second to Törn/Partanen.

2018–19 season: First national title and Worlds debut

Turkkila/Versluis began their season with three Challenger Series events – they finished sixth at the

2018 CS Lombardia Trophy The 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy was held in September 2018 in Bergamo, Italy. It was part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Entries The I ...

, seventh at the

2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy The 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy was held on September 19–22, 2018, at the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, ...

, and sixth at the

2018 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy was held in October 2018 in Espoo. It was part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Entries ...

. In October, the duo won silver at the

Minsk-Arena Ice Star The Ice Star (also known as the Minsk-Arena Ice Star) is an annual international figure skating competition held in Minsk, Belarus. In some years, the event was part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's si ...

. In November, they debuted on the

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

series, placing sixth at the

2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki The 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki was held in Helsinki, Finland, from November 2–4. It was the third event of the 2018–2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational ...

, and then took bronze at the

Warsaw Cup The Warsaw Cup is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Polish Figure Skating Association () and held in Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Cup debuted in 2002 as a junior-l ...

. The following month, they became the Finnish national champions and were selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Belarus, where they placed eleventh. They then competed at their first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, placing sixteenth.

2019–20 season

Turkkila sustained a neck injury in a practice session at the

2019 CS Lombardia Trophy The 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy was held in September 2019 in Bergamo, Italy. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance. Entries The In ...

, compelling the team to withdraw from the competition. They subsequently also withdrew from the

2019 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy was held in October 2019 in Espoo. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The Internationa ...

and the

2019 Rostelecom Cup The 2019 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia from November 15–17. Medals wer ...

, their

assignment for the year. They were assigned to compete at the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, but these were cancelled as a result of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

2020–21 season

Returning to competition for the first time in two years, Turkkila/Versluis represented Finland at the 2021 World Championships in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, placing twenty-first after a fluke error on the rotational lift.

2021–22 season: Beijing Olympics

Turkkila and Versluis at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy 2

Turkkila/Versluis began the Olympic season at the

2021 CS Lombardia Trophy The 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy Memorial Anna Grandolfi was held on September 10–12, 2021 in Bergamo, Italy. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice danc ...

, where they placed sixth. They were assigned to the

2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 22–25, 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. It was also the final qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Medals were awarded in the disciplin ...

, seeing to

qualify Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

a place for Finland at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

. They placed first in both programs, setting three new personal bests to take both their first

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, The Challenger, or, The Challengers, may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and telemovies * ''Challengers ...

gold and the first of four available dance spots. At their third Challenger event of the season, the

2021 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 7–10, 2021 in Espoo, Finland. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, pairs, an ...

, Turkkila/Versluis came sixth, notably managing fourth place in the free dance. They competed at the 2021 Cup of Nice, also known as Trophée Métropole Nice, where they won gold, before going on to make their

appearance at the

2021 Internationaux de France The 2021 Internationaux de France was the fifth event in the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Patinoire Polesud in Grenoble on November 19–21. Medals w ...

, where they finished in seventh. After winning their second Finnish national title, Turkkila/Versluis were named to the Finnish Olympic team. Turkkila had a mild case of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in late December and recovered, but because she continued to test positive, the team was unable to participate in the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event started three d ...

. Making their appearance at the

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Olympics dance event, Turkkila/Versluis were the first Finnish ice dancers to appear in the Winter Olympics since Rahkamo/ Kokko in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. They placed sixteenth in the rhythm dance, qualifying for the free dance. They moved up one place in the free dance, finishing fifteenth. Turkkila/Versluis concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, held in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. They finished twelfth.

2022–23 season: Grand Prix and European medals

Turkkila/Versluis won the bronze medal at the

2022 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 4–9, 2022, in Espoo, Finland. It was the fifth event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The In ...

before taking the gold medal at the 2022

Cup of Nice A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, polys ...

. They were considered medal contenders going into the

, but placed eighth in the rhythm dance after Turkkila fell during the twizzle sequence. They were fifth in the free dance, rising to seventh overall. Their second event was the

2022 Grand Prix of Espoo The 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo was the sixth event of the 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland, from November 25-27. Medal ...

, held on home ice in Finland instead of the

Rostelecom Cup The Rostelecom Cup () – originally known as the Cup of Russia () – was an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. The first i ...

as a result of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. They finished fourth in the rhythm dance with a new personal best score of 75.06, 1.16 points behind third-place Americans Carreira/ Ponomarenko. In the free dance, they rose to third overall with another new personal best (116.73), taking the bronze medal with a total score of 191.79. They were the lone Finnish medalists at the Finnish Grand Prix event and the first Finnish dance team to ever medal in the Grand Prix. Turkkila said that the result "gives us a lot of confidence. We know what we are capable of, and we want to achieve more. This is just the beginning." After winning their third Finnish national title, Turkkila/Versluis were their country's primary medal hope at a home

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, hosted, like the Grand Prix, in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

. This was their first appearance at the European Championships since 2019. They finished third in the rhythm dance with a new personal best score of 77.56, 0.23 points ahead of fourth-place Lithuanian team

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

/ Ambrulevičius. In the free dance, Turkkila/Versluis set new personal bests in that segment and overall, and won the bronze medal. This was the first European medal for a Finnish dance team since Rahkamo/ Kokko's gold in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. Versluis called it "absolutely amazing," especially in light of their previous absences. Turkkila/Versluis concluded the season at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, where they finished ninth, the first time since

that a Finnish team placed in the top ten. Turkkila commented that "in August, you couldn't have imagined that there would be a season like this. All expectations have been exceeded."

2023–24 season

Beginning the season at the

2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 20–23, 2023, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The Int ...

, Turkkila/Versluis won the bronze medal. Competing next on home ice at the

, they won the rhythm dance. Second in the free dance, they remain in first place overall, becoming the first Finnish dance team to win the gold medal at the Finlandia Trophy. The duo noted that the

Espoo Metro Areena Espoo Metro Areena (known from 1999 to January 2009 as LänsiAuto Areena, and from 2009 to October 2015 as Barona Areena) is an arena in the Tapiola District of Espoo, Finland. The arena is part of the '' Tapiolan Urheilupuisto'' (Tapiola Sports ...

had been the site of many milestones in their careers, including national singles championships, making it a place of "many meanings." With Finland again hosting on the

in the same venue, they won another bronze medal at the

2023 Grand Prix of Espoo The 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo was the fifth event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland, from November 17–19. Med ...

. Turkkila/Versluis went on to finish fourth at the

2023 NHK Trophy The 2023 NHK Trophy was the sixth event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Osaka, Japan, from November 24–26. ...

, which they said they considered a strong result given that they were competing on consecutive weekends. Turkkila said they were "overall very happy" with the first half of the season. After claiming their fourth national gold medal, Turkkila/Versluis sought to defend their podium place at the

2024 European Championships 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

. They came sixth in both segments, placing sixth overall. They received a deduction of an extra element in the free dance, which they said they would research for future performances to understand the error. They then finished the season at the 2024 World Championships, coming tenth. Turkkila praised the crowd at the

event as "amazing," while admitting that "result wise, we could have done even a bit better this season, especially at Europeans. But the field is big and competitive."

2024–25 season

Turkkila and Versluis began the season by competing on the

circuit, winning bronze at the

2024 CS Budapest Trophy The 2024 CS Budapest Trophy was held on October 11–13, 2024, in Budapest, Hungary. It was part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in single skating, men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entries The Internati ...

and finishing fourth at the

2024 CS Nepela Memorial The 2024 CS Nepela Memorial was held on October 24–26, 2024, in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entries The International Skating ...

. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, they were first assigned to the

2024 Finlandia Trophy The 2024 Grand Prix of Finland, Finlandia Trophy was the fifth event of the 2024–25 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland, from N ...

, which was for the first time held as part of the Grand Prix rather than the Challenger series. They again won the bronze medal on home ice, with their tango-themed free dance earning a notable audience response. The following week they competed at the

2024 Cup of China The 2024 Cup of China was the sixth event of the 2024–25 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Chongqing Huaxi Culture and Sports Center in Chongqing from November 22� ...

, where they were fifth. In December, Turkkila/Versluis would win their fifth national title at the 2025 Finnish Championships. The following month they participated in the 2025 European Championships in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, coming fourth in the rhythm dance despite Versluis losing two levels on his twizzle element. Their score of 81.26 was 0.31 points back of third-place Britons

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

Gibson Gibson, Gibson's or Gibsons may refer to: Business * Gibson Appliance, a former American refrigerator manufacturer * Gibson (guitar company), an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Greetings, ...

. They placed third in the free dance with a new personal best score of 124.43 despite each losing a twizzle level, receiving a bronze small medal for the segment, but remained in fourth overall. Both said they had found the event difficult, but Turkkila added that it was "still meaningful to have the small medal for the tango, which shows that the tango was appreciated by the public and the judges." Following the European Championships, Turkkila/Versluis participated in the Road to 26 Trophy, the test event for the

2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...

, held at

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Forum di Milano Unipol Forum (formerly the FilaForum, DatchForum and Mediolanum Forum; known as the Forum di Milano in events where commercial naming rights are prohibited) is an indoor sports arena that is located in Assago, a small town 3 km outside Milan, I ...

. They won the gold medal. They finished the season at the 2025 World Championships in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States, which were also the primary qualifying event for the Milan Olympics. Skating in the penultimate group of the rhythm dance, Versluis fell in their midline step sequence, resulting in them scoring only 68.09. They initially appeared poised to miss qualification for the free dance by one ordinal, but after Lithuanian team

/ Ambrulevičius also had a fall and dropped below them, they were instead the final team to qualify, twentieth in the segment. Turkkila/Versluis were seventh in the free dance, rising to eleventh overall. Turkkila said it had been "an absolute roller coaster of emotions when we learned in the locker room that maybe there was a chance we would get to skate this free dance again. It felt like a gift, and we are so happy we could end our season with a happy memory." Their placement, in addition to Orihara/ Pirinen's fourteenth-place finish won Finland two quotas for ice dance at the

Programs

2018_Grand_Prix_of_Helsinki_Juulia_Turkkila_Matthias_Versluis_2018-11-03_21-32-08

Ice dance with Matthias Versluis

Single skating

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Matthias Versluis

Single skating

Detailed results

Ice dance with Matthias Versluis

Turkkila and Versluis at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy

References

External links

* *
Juulia Turkkila
at Tracings * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkkila, Juulia Finnish female single skaters Finnish female ice dancers 1994 births Living people Figure skaters from Helsinki Competitors at the 2017 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2019 Winter Universiade Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Finland European Figure Skating Championships medalists 21st-century Finnish sportswomen