Julia Sauter competes on Thursday evening for the free program at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games
Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published Thursday, February 19, 2026, 5:29 p.m. / Updated Thursday, February 19, 2026, 5:40 p.m.
Julia Sauter (27 years old) will perform in Thursday's free program, after occupying the 16th position in the short program on Tuesday. She will enter the contest ninth, around 21:00 (Eurosport).
Julia Sauter earned her spot in the free program after a flawless performance in the short on Tuesday, which earned her a season-best and career-best score of 63.13 points. She was 16th out of 29 competitors.
The skater born in Germany, but competing for Romania since 2013, is living her dream, and on Thursday evening she will enter the ice for the ninth time, around 21:00, with the free program starting at 20:00.
Julia Sauter financed her dream through fundraising on crowdfunding platforms, multiple jobs, had to overcome moments of anxiety, changes of coaches, problems with Romanian citizenship, which she obtained at the end of last year, and much more.
She spoke after the short program about fulfilling this dream: “What really impresses me about the Olympics is how everything works behind the scenes. It's the only time I get to experience this and I'm really trying to enjoy my time here.”
In the history of the Winter Olympics, Romania has only been represented in the women's event by Beatrice Huștiu in 1968, 28th place, and by Roxana Luca, Julia's current coach, in 2022 and 2006, with her occupying 23rd and 26th places.
Julia Sauter, the best score achieved this year at the European Championships
Julia Sauter's best score for the free program is 121.84, achieved this year at the European Championships in Sheffield. His best total is 174.37, also achieved at this year's European competition, where he placed eleventh. She will skate to a medley of “That Home,” “Rain In Your Black Eyes,” “To Build a Home” on Thursday night.
Julia Sauter chose a purple dress for the free program PHOTO Imago Images
At the top, after the short program, the first three places were occupied by the Japanese Ami Nakai (78.71), Kaori Sakamoto (77.23) and the American Alysa Liu (76.59).
