Details of their outstanding achievements can be found here.
water skiing in Belarus. That was in 1979, when water skiing was still relatively unknown. Out of friendship, Viktor agreed to take Julia into his club and work on her physical development over the winter before starting water skiing on the water the following summer. Thus began Julia's wonderful journey as a water skier in 1979, which lasted for 40 years (1979 to 2019). The first "steps" were uncertain, and all the other children quickly overtook Julia. The cold water, a suit for five children, simple wooden skis, a sporting discipline in a sports camp on the outskirts of town; all this initially put Julia off but brought out her determination. The first summer passed quickly, pigtails were cut off, she gained a lot of new friends and was infected with love for this wonderful sport through her first coaches, Ludmila Makarevich and Sergei Kudlach. 1982-1984 was the most important period for her sporting breakthrough. The Gromyko family went abroad for two long years without Julia. She did not want to go; she could not imagine her life without water skiing and her friends. She stayed with her grandmother and Viktor Novozhilov began to train her intensively. He promised the family that he would take care of the then 11-year-old girl and make her a champion. He kept his word and in 1985 Julia won her first gold medal at the Junior European Championships. The waterski school in the former USSR was world famous, and Julia's medals in national and international competitions were proof of this for years. Until the end of her sports career, Victor Novozhilov remained her coach, mentor, teacher. Even today, he remains one of the most important people in her life. In 1989, Cable Waterski came into her life. The Belarus waterski team traveled to Slovakia for the first time and took part in an international competition. After successful participation and admission to the European Championship, the Belarus team went to the European Championship in the same city a month later. The success was terrific: a new European record, gold in Tricks. From that moment, Julia's career in Cableski began. For another five years she took part in international competitions, various championships and tours and won medals in both boat and cable skiing. It was not until 1994, when she signed a contract with Wolfgang Senge, the owner of a Cableski site in Germany, that Julia finally decided to commit to cable waterski. That was a fateful decision. In 1998 Julia married the German Marc-André Meier, one of the world's best slalom skiers. Their daughter Jana-Chathreen was born in May 1998. Three months later, Julia competed with her husband in the first Cable World Championships and won her first of ten World Championship gold medals. In 2001 their son Finn-Maximilian was born. Both children, how could it be otherwise, started water skiing at an early age, both are highly successful and both are a permanent part of the German national team. For 30 years Julia competed for Belarus, won medals, and set new European and world records. She has represented the interests of all cable skiers as an athlete’s representative at the Cableski Council; she qualified as a Level One Judge, was voted the best athlete of the year at IWWF and EAME several times. In addition she coached German athletes and looked after the national teams at multiple championships around the world. Many athletes have passed through Julia's hands since their first training camps in Germany in 2000. The entire world of water skiing knows names like Simon Herrmann, Jana Wittenbrock, Andreas Pape, Julia's two children and Germany's latest star Laura Hillenbrand. Julia has been a permanent national trainer for the German Waterski and Wakeboard Association since 2019. Julia has been part of all the stages of development and changes that have happened in the Cableski area over the last 30 years: new rules (several times), World Cups in China, European Tour. From her first jump record of 35.0 m, to her last at 48.9 m. From her conception of new tricks to her consistency, we cannot imagine Cableski without this woman's presence, her endless love for waterskiing, her professionalism in all levels of society, her family, and her optimism. In 2019, Julia ended her sports career in Minsk, on her home lake, by taking part in the European Championships for the last time. This ended her sporting career for her; a symbolic circle lasting 40 years. |
