Júlia Sebestyén

Júlia Sebestyén
Júlia Sebestyén at the 2007–2008 Hungarian Championship.
Personal information
Native name	Gór-Sebestyén Júlia
Country represented	Hungary
Born	(1981-05-14) 14 May 1981 (age 35) Miskolc, Hungary
Residence	Budapest
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Former coach	Gurgen Vardanjan, András Száraz, Eszter Jurek
Choreographer	Jeranjak Ipakjan, Nina Petrenko
Skating club	Tiszaújvárosi SC
Retired	2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	165.22 2003 Skate Canada
Short program	61.28 2005 Europeans
Free skate	107.60 2003 Skate Canada
Medal record Representing  Hungary Figure skating: Ladies' singles European Championships 2004 Budapest Ladies' singles 2003 Malmö Ladies' singles

Júlia Sebestyén (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈjuːliɒ ˈʃɛbɛʃceːn]; born 14 May 1981) is a Hungarian former competitive figure skater. She is the 2004 European Champion and 2002–2010 Hungarian national champion. At the 2004 European Figure Skating Championships, she became the first Hungarian woman to win the European title. She is also a four-time Hungarian Olympic team member, and was Hungary's flag-bearer at the 2010 Olympics.

Júlia Sebestyén was born on 14 May 1981 in Miskolc, Hungary. Her full name in Hungarian is Gór-Sebestyén Júlia.

Júlia Sebestyén began skating at the age of three, practicing on the outdoor ice rink in Tiszaújváros. When she was 13, she moved to Budapest where she had better training conditions. Her coach was András Száraz.

Sebestyén began competing on the senior international level in 1995. She made her senior ISU Championship debut at the 1995 European Championships, where she placed 15th. She competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics and placed 15th. In the 1998–1999 post-Olympic season, Sebestyen competed on both the Junior Grand Prix and at senior ISU championships. She made her senior Grand Prix debut in the 1999–2000 season. During summers, she trained in Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, England and the United States due to lack of ice time in Hungary. In 2000, the Budapest ice rink burned down, forcing her to train at an outdoor rink in a city park.

Sebestyén competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics and placed 8th; she was also 8th at that season's Worlds. The next season, she earned her first European Championships medal, a bronze. In 2004, she won the 2004 European Figure Skating Championships, becoming the first Hungarian woman to win that competition. She later finished 6th at the 2004 Worlds, which would prove to be her best result in that event.