Conveyor belt attacks on Julia Sauter: she does not know a word of Romanian, although she obtained the citizenship of our country
Julia Sauter chose to represent Romania since she was 14 years old, after the German federation directed her to move to another field, because she was unable to do certain jumps. The German did not give up skating, and the meeting with coach Marius Negrea directed her steps towards our country.
Julia Sauter, discovered and bred by Marius Negrea. Freedom photo
This year, Julia participated in the first edition of the Olympic Games in her career, where she performed excellently. She was 17th in the women's figure skating final after breaking her personal best for points scored in a competition. To be able to perform at the Milan-Cortina Olympics under the flag of our country, the German had to take her Romanian citizenship, which happened last September. Until then, Julia Sauter did not apply for the tricolor passport, because there is no such express requirement in the European and World countries.
He would not have wanted to participate in the 2018 and 2022 Olympics
Marius Negrea, her former coach, whom the German athlete gave up to be trained by former skater Roxana Luca, launched a lot of ironies and accusations against her. He specified, for Libertatea, among other things, that “Julia did not want to go to the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, and now she has become the first flag bearer in history who does not know a word in Romanian”.
The sportswoman born in Baden-Wurttemberg 28 years ago answered elegantly: “When I started competing for Romania, in 2012/2013, I was so far away from the 2018 Olympics that I never applied for the Romanian passport. And then, after 2019, I stopped for a whole year, and the Olympics were so far away again. I think we always thought: OK, if we happen to get a place, we'll find a solution.
He knows the oath of allegiance to the country
Obviously, going to the Olympic Games was a dream, but I always thought about the immediate goals, the World and European Championships. For me, being there was fulfilling enough. Going to the Olympics is obviously the icing on the cake, but my life wouldn't be worse if I hadn't ended up here.”Julia Sauter told Inside Skating.
The athlete, who trains mainly in Germany, also confessed that she knows a few words in Romanian, exactly the ones she had to say when she took her oath of allegiance to our country. “I learned a few phrases in Romanian: I swear to be devoted to the homeland and the Romanian people, to defend the national interests, to respect the Constitution and the laws of Romania. That's it, I repeated it every day and now I know. Actually, no, I forgot something: to defend the rights and national interests, to defend the Constitution and the laws of Romania. That's it”.
And the former Minister of Sports, Eduard Novak, had a harsh intervention to the athlete, considering that the 17th place obtained at the Winter Olympics is not worth mentioning.
Married since 2021 to the American hockey player Robbie Czarnik, the skater announced yesterday that she will retire from the sport in the next two years, going to focus on her family.
What Marius Negrea said about his former student, Julia Sauter
*(no I should have been at the Olympic Games) with the athlete who represents Romania in figure skating, who did not want to go to the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, and now she is the first flag bearer in history who does not know a word of Romanian. And who participated in the European and World Championships with residence in my apartment in Brașov. And which I discovered 13-14 years ago, with whom I went to competitions, transport, car, accommodation, about 1,500 euros a time. And who suddenly told me that he felt he could no longer make progress with me.
*She was taken over by Roxana Luca, my former student (…) I thought we would last until the end of her career. I teamed up with Julia at 57 competitions, 19 of which she was on the podium. I participated in 4 World Championships, 7 European Championships and 3 Junior World Championships”.
