Julia Taubitz

Julia Taubitz (born 1 March 1996) is a German luger. She is the 2026 Winter Olympic champion in women's singles and the team relay, an eight-time World champion, and two-time European champion. She made her debut in the Luge World Cup at the age of 19 on November 28, 2015 on the Olympia Eiskanal Igls, where she won the bronze medal at the 2014 Junior World Championships. In her first World Cup races, she finished 18th. On January 16, 2016, she finished ninth on the Oberhof luge track, a top 10 result for the first time. She was the fourth German starter for the Luge World Championships 2016 on the artificial ice track in Königsseequalify and reached sixth place on January 29, 2016 in the sprint competition, which was held for the first time. A day later she reached sixth place again in the actual World Championship race for women and was thus the official U-23 world champion ahead of the American Summer Britcher and Russia's Victoria Demchenko. On February 6, Julia Taubitz also won gold at the Junior World Championships held at Winterberg. In the 2016/17 World Cup, she also qualified for the Luge World Championships on the Olympia Eiskanal Igls. With an eighth place in the women's race, she secured the silver medal in the U-23 area behind Summer Britcher and ahead of Victoria Demchenko.