Olympian Julia Marino Talks About Dealing With Injury And The Stress Of Competition

We often think about the Olympics and that winning moment as the pinnacle of success. However for the thousands of athletes just below the limelight, that life can be filled with financial challenges, years of injury, bills, unfulfilled dreams, and a longing for what’s next in life after the game ends.

You can listen to the story of Julia Marino (@julia_marino), a Colorado educated, New England bred Slope Skier, whose unique path to Olympic success took her from being an American at the X Games to becoming the first Winter Olympian for Paraguay, where she was born before her adopted family raised her in the United States.

Julia talked about the challenges of the X Games athlete, dealing with injury and the mental side of the game, and what it’s like to carry the torch as the first Winter Olympian from the country of Paraguay.

Some key points to listen for…

“Paraguay had never competed in the Winter Olympics, and that really stuck out to me. They don’t even have an ice rink.”

“Keeping my feet in a bunch of different pools has allowed me as an athlete to be marketable; I wasn’t the Lindsey Vonn of the scene but I used experiences and qualities of myself to relate to other people and was able to grow an organic following.”

“Being adopted myself, I connected with the Gift of Adoption organization, their focus is raising grants for families that want to adopt but can’t afford to. I also have the opportunity to teach English in Nepal, which is will be really rewarding for me”.

“The foundation of my career has been built on ambition and drive, when I have a goal in mind I will stop at nothing to reach it.”

“My lifestyle posts or pictures of me in the gym on social media really resonate with people in Paraguay and has helped me build my brand outside of Skiing.”

The full listen is here

Avatar for Jerry Milani
Jerry Milani

Jerry Milani is a freelance writer and public relations executive living in Bloomfield, N.J. He has worked in P.R. for more than 25 years in college and conference sports media relations, two agencies and for the International Fight League, a team-based mixed martial arts league, and now is the PR manager for Wizard World, which runs pop culture and celebrity conventions across North America. Milani is also the play-by-play announcer for Caldwell University football and basketball broadcasts. He is a proud graduate of Fordham University and when not attending a Yankees, Rams or Cougars game can be reached at jerry (at) jerrymilani (dot) com.